The Impact of Good Corporate Governance in Internal Control Essay

The Impact of Good Corporate Governance in Internal Control - Essay Example As result, nowadays, the corporate governance has a significant role to the companies to escape from failures in collapses or fraud. However, the discovery and prevention of fraud are significant challenges facing the business environment. Therefore, the ways in which companies' deals with fraud may enhance either the internal control and independent internal auditor or the need for forensic accounting. The forensic accounting is increasing in many organizations to identify situation, systems and security weaknesses by design and advise measure to reduce and limited inherent risk in the organization. The Enron and WorldCom in the US corporate collapses and fraud shook the foundation of the financial system and corporate governance, therefore; regulators in the U.S reform corporate governance by established the Sarbanes-Oxley act in June 2002 and Cadbury in the UK, in 1992, which now combine code. This assignment will illustrate the impact of good corporate governance in internal cont rol and internal auditing function to prevent fraud and detection. 2. Corporate governance and the prevention of fraud and detection Through the decades, the increase of the complexity of organizational activities have resulted to the increase of the difficulty of their control.   However, a mechanism should be also established ensuring that the rules and the guidelines included in the firm’s corporate governance scheme are followed. In any case, the value of the corporate governance as a framework for preventing fraud and defection across the organization cannot be doubted. This view is analytically explained below referring primarily to the main aspects and the role of corporate governance as a strategic tool for monitoring the progress of the organization in regard to its aims and mission; at the next level, the role of corporate governance in preventing fraud is presented explaining the challenges and the benefits of the involvement of corporate governance in such activity. 2.1 Corporate governance – role and characteristics Different approaches can be used in order to explain the role of corporate governance in modern organizations. In accordance with Anand (2007) corporate governance is a framework that ‘incorporates almost every aspe ct of corporate life’ (Anand 2007, p.77); however, it is explained that in its common form, the corporate governance framework consists of rules that aim to protect the interests of the firm’s shareholders (Anand 2007). On the other hand, Du Plessis et al. (2010) note that the term ‘corporate governance’ can incorporate many elements; among these elements two are considered to be the most important: the promotion of the interests of the shareholders and ‘the regulation/ monitoring of the corporate conduct’ (Du Plessis et al. 2010, p.10).  

Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity for LOreal Assignment

Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity for LOreal - Assignment Example Models like Porter’s Five Forces have been used to match the practical aspects with theoretical ones, along with recommendations on a feasible course of action for the company to embrace success in the future. Â  The environment surrounding a business comprises of both micro and macro forces that shape up the strategy of the business and also test the viability of the developed strategy in real time. For L’Oreal, the market has been a mix of favorable and unfavorable forces where the genius of L’Oreal through its two success recipes- diversification and innovation, changed the tides. Â  The cosmetics industry has been very fragmented yet open to new offerings and product innovations, keeping in mind the needs of varied consumer groups. Demographically, L’Oreal was presented with a host of opportunities to come up with various products with different ethnic and cultural shades. Â  Cosmetics is an industry which is not limited to just creams. It extends way beyond face products and involves hair and skin care and beauty products. A player who was able to operate through these lines of product width was the one who could sustain itself in the booming cosmetic and beauty product market, which was done really well by L’Oreal. Â  The entire industry, as obvious in the case, is in its growth stage with multiple players entering the battleground. L’Oreal had been able to secure its pole position till now because of new product propositions every year to sustain the wave of innovation and tight control over its operational costs. Yet, the following points emerge out of the industry analysis of cosmetics.

Applied Behavioral Analysis II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Applied Behavioral Analysis II - Essay Example According to the data provided, the intervention employed by Martin worked. The behavior exhibited by the patient Sara included banging her head against the wall, pulling her hair, and biting her arm. These behaviors according to the differential reinforcement of other (DRO) procedure were inappropriate. From the data provided, the frequency of biting her arm reduced from 10 to 7, the frequency of pulling her hair reduced from 23 to 5, and the frequency of banging her head against the wall reduced from 15 to 6. The method was not that successful although it reduced the frequency of the inappropriate behavior. The method is most effective for children aged four to twelve; Sara was only fourteen years old. For middle school setting in which Sara belongs, the method is used for integration into the self-management plans (NPDC on ASD 1). The ABAB reversal design has ethical and practical limitations when the intervention is withdrawn. The ethical issues become significant when the behavior that is being targeted is more problematic; this is the case with the Tier 3 RTI cases. In ABAB reversal design can be lengthened to for full observance of the return to baseline. Another limitation with this method is that some of the target behaviors can fully exhibit the return to baseline. In such a case, the learned behaviors partially return or they are returned on the basis of variability or the rate of learning. The resultant effect is the weak version of the reversal design in majority of the academic situations (Burns and Riley-Tillman 46). Due to these serious limitations, the method is faced with a number of ethical issues as discussed above. If Martin had used the method on Sara, a number of ethical issues could have been raised concerning the method. These ethical implications include the problem with the behavior of the target, and the partial return of the learned

Reasons I Choose Belmont University Essay Example for Free

Reasons I Choose Belmont University Essay One of the universities that have caught my attention was the Belmont University. Coming from a Christian Community, I felt that the university can help me develop into a more mature Christian. The schools mission is to provide an to its education that is academically challenging, that promotes the empowerment of both men and women. Their diverse backgrounds help hone the students to become engaged with current issues, and in the improvement of the society, through their compassion, courage, discipline, and faith in God. Since the university is centered on the needs of its students, the university provided an environment that helped its students grow spiritually and intellectually. With the help of their peers and professors, the students are able to help themselves become the best in their chosen field. In addition to this, the university offers a wide variety of courses that cater to each individuals interest and needs. Admission to the university definitely allows an individual to grow and mature to become a better person, both intellectually and spiritually. Other factors are also taken into great consideration, such as their social and physical needs. The diversity and artistic favor that this university has can help in the building of strong foundations for the future of its students. Belmont does not only offer a conducive environment suitable for learning, but also caters to an environment contributory to spiritual growth. In addition to this, the universitys location is beyond par. Since Nashville is known to be a â€Å"Music City†, the university can help hone its students to become excellent in their field by providing world class performances. After acquiring a degree form Belmont, anyone can easily find jobs just outside of the university, with the wide array of job offerings in Nashville. Church-related activities may still be practiced, through the number of churches near the vicinity. The Belmont University is definitely the answer to all our prayers.

HRM Issues in China Essay examples -- Human Resources Management Chine

Issues affecting International Human Resource Management in China â€Å"Napoleon called China a sleeping dragon and said there would be woe to the world when the dragon awakes. As the world knows, the dragon is more than stirring.† Introduction The Chinese believe that the Great Dragon ruled the Middle Kingdom of the world for nearly four thousand years. For most of this period China was a great trading nation. Then the dragon fell asleep for two centuries, while China collapsed under the effects of colonialism, until in 1978 Deng Xiao Ping woke the dragon up. And now the Chinese dragon is back, hungry to take its place as the economic and cultural superpower of the 21st century. Nowadays China is often called the world’s largest market. Many people might think that it is very easy to start business in China and that success is guaranteed because of the huge potential of the market. But that isn’t true. Making successful business in China is not that easy as it might seem. There are many potential problems which can arise. For instance the Chinese civilisation is five thousand years old and because of that the Chinese culture, tradition and value system have a significant impact on the different business processes. As the largest country in population, China has 50 plus different minority groups of people each have its own culture, custom, norm, tradition, even unique holidays and languages. Also, as one of the top three nations in land size, China is geographically divided into many regional centres across the nation each has unique cultural aspects in terms of tradition, value, social norm, belief, and organisational features. Those unique cultural factors will present numerous challenges to foreign investors and international joint venture managers. In this essay I want to discuss issues effecting human resource management which is, according to many foreign executives, the greatest challenge for Western companies in China today. The significance of culture in international Human Resource Management According to Hofstede the influence of national culture is important to management for three reasons. The first is political and institutional. There are differences between the countries in formal institutions such as government, legal systems, educational systems, labour and employer’s association, and the way they are used. The secon... ...-158. Hofstede, Geert: http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_china.shtml, 1.12.2004. Huo, Paul / von Glinow, Mary Ann: On transplanting human resource practices to China: A culture-driven approach, International Journal of Manpower 16(9), 1995, p. 3 - 15. Huczynski, Andrzej / Buchanan, David: Organizational Behaviour – An Introductory Text, 4th edition, London: Prentice Hall, 2001. McClenahen, John S.: China’s Cultural Challenge, Industry Week 253(4), 2004, p. 10 - 12. Meier, Johannes /Perez, Javier /McKinsey: Solving the puzzle: MNCs in China, Business Source Premier Database, 1995. Scarborough, Jack: Comparing Chinese and Western Cultural Roots: Why ‘East is East and †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, Business Horizons 41(6), 1998, p. 43 - 50. Wang, Yuan / Zhang, Xin Sheng / Goodfellow, Rob: Business Culture in China, 1st edition, Singapore: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998. Wilson, Jonathan / Brennan, Ross: Market entry methods for western firms in China, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics 15(4), 2003, p. 3 - 18. Yang, Jiaqin / Lee, Huei: Identifying key factors for successful joint venture in China, Industrial Management & Data Systems 102(2), 2002, p. 98 - 109.

The Law with Teens and Nude Photos

Composition 101 October 18, 2012 In Dahlia Lithwick’s article â€Å"Teens, Nude Photos and the Law†, she talks about how teen boys and girls are sending nude pictures to their boyfriends or girlfriends. They use their mobile devices like cell phones, ipod, computers and their cameras to send their nude image. She then addresses the consequences of the nude photo that the teenager has received. The teenager that received the photo can be charged with a felony of child pornography. The author then discusses why the teenager should not be treated harshly.She states that many of the teenagers are still immature and they don’t know the consequences of sending nude photos to each other. In her article she argues that the criminal justice system is taking it too far in charging the teenagers as child pornographers. I agree with the author because there is a real problem with criminalizing sexting as a form of child pornography. The teenagers caught with the photo will b e charged with child pornography. Child pornography is a serious offence and can stay forever on your lifetime record and mess up your life.The majorities of the teenagers that are charged with the crime are not even predators, but a picture like has big consequences if it’s ever to get out on the internet. In my first argument, Dahlia Lithwick states that the teenagers are being punished to harshly. (Lithwick 492) She is right the charges against them are too severe. They can stay on their record for a long time or even forever. If the teenager would go look for a job and they were to pull up his records and they find that he has a child pornography offence, they won’t want to hire him.Who would want to hire a person who takes images of kids? It is a serious offence too people all over the world, but its a big charge just for a teen. Especially if that teen is a boy and receives a random photo on his cell phone and it’s a nude photo of his girlfriend and she is drunk. It’s not his fault that she is drunk. She is a drunk and underage girl. Teens don’t know any better. Many, well most of the teenagers are all still immature. Many think that being 18,17,16,15 they think they are grown when they really are not.Most all the teenagers don’t know fully what’s right from wrong. There mind is not fully developed and when something goes wrong the kids that think that there grown, go straight to their parents for help. That’s why they have grown parents to help them in life. That’s why all the judges that prosecuted the teens as child pornographers can’t forget that they were too once teenagers. The people that make up the criminal justice system can’t forget that they once too did stupid things when they were little.At least once they of had to receive on photo of their girlfriend or boyfriend nude. Many of the times the kids do it for fun. They think its being sexy. The kids these days are no t the same as the kids from a long time ago. We have so much technology now, that it help us communicate better with people and not be able to do those things. Dahlia, in her article states â€Å"We seem to forget that kids can be as tech-savvy as Bill Gates but as gullible as Bambi. † (Lithwick 493). She is right, teenagers now a days are tech smart. They know how to handle a phone better than our parents.What teenagers don’t realize when taking bad images is that there putting themselves in a bad situations. There can be digital dating violence. They can use those images and put them on profiles like face book. Recently there was a page on face book of girls that are nude. The girls that were put out there were very upset and they wanted the site shut down. They were mad at the creator who made the site but it not his fault it’s the girls who took the images and gave it out. The site was out for a while and a lot of people got to see it.Right after pretty much the whole world saw it they finally took it down. Now the girls that were seen on the image are now marked for life or for a long time. People that know her will remember that she was in a bad photo. That’s when the teens realize that they did wrong but many still don’t learns there lesson. They are still going to be doing it because of relationship pressure. Most girls are the ones that are getting taken advantage off. The criminal justice system should change the way they label children as child pornographers.They are just making things worse. They need to find a way a better way to help solve the problem. Labeling children with these names are not going to help it stop. They need to show proof that its actually killing and hurting people emotionally. There have been many accounts of teens being depressed because of a bad photo. The system needs to stand up and help out the ones who are victims of these situations. They need to label the right people with these labe ls because teens are not dangerous. The older people can be charged as hild pornographers because they are grown and they know of what they are doing. Those are the only ones they should be charged. Over all, Dahlia Lithwick has a point, teens all over are being charged with child pornography for sending and receiving nude photos of their girlfriends. The police said that by sending nude photos girls can put them selves at risk and that has serious consequences so they put a severe consequence on them. They shouldn’t label them at a young age just for a nude photo, there teens, they can be immature.

Apple Inc: Analysis of Financial Statement Essay

I chose Apple for my course project mainly based on the fact that they release all their records to the public and they have excellent accounting practices. Their paper work is easy to read and follow and based on their records they have an endless amount of revenue in the billions. As we have discussed about Apple in class I was very intrigued how they looked in the books on a specific level of detail and this course project was the perfect way to take initiative to find out just how their numbers actually add up answering the following questions. 1. What amount of deferred tax assets or deferred tax liabilities are on the two most recent years on the balance sheet? What gives rise to these deferred taxes? What information is disclosed in the footnotes related to deferred taxes? Please define a deferred tax asset and deferred tax liability. At year end September 24 2011 the balance sheet shows following amount of deferred tax assets and liabilities: Deferred tax asset is arising due to deductible temporary differences, tax losses, and tax credits of $3.2Billion and deferred tax liabilities of $9.2Billion. Deferred revenue is recorded when the company receives payments of their products in advance or for the performance of services. It includes amount for unspecified and specified software upgrade rights and non-software services that are attached to the products of the company. It is disclosed in the footnotes that Deferred tax assets and liabilities shows the effects of tax losses, credits, and the future income tax effects of temporary differences between the consolidated financial statement carrying amounts of current assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and are measured using en-acted tax rates that apply to their taxable income in the years in which these temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Footnotes also states that company records a valuation allowance in order to reduce the def erred tax asset to the amount it thinks cannot be realized. Deferred tax asset: Deferred tax asset is defined as reduction in company’s future taxes as the company has already paid for these taxes in past. It is like a prepaid tax. It is used to reduce later period’s income taxes. Deferred tax liability: Deferred tax liability is defined as liability that the company owes but they don’t have to pay it in the current time but will be due in some future time. This often results due to difference in tax regulations and accounting practices. 2. What temporary and permanent differences does the company disclose in its footnotes? What are some other examples of temporary and permanent differences? Operating loss to carry forward /carry forward: The company had unrecognized tax benefits of 1.4 billion Guidelines for carry forwards and carrybacks: Tax law allows corporation to carry forward loss up to 20 years and they can carryback tax losses only up to 2 years. A carry forward can be used to reduce future income and in the end reducing future tax payments. 4. Does the company have a defined benefit or defined contribution plan? What are the key elements of the plan discussed in the footnotes? What amounts on the balance sheet relate to this plan? What are the differences between defined benefit and defined contribution plans? Employee contribution plan: The key element discuss in the footnotes is the rate to which the contribution is made and matching of contribution by company itself. The Company’s matching contributions to the Savings Plan were $90 million, $72 million and $59 million in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Difference between Benefit and contribution plan: In contribution the employer put certain fixed percentage of employees to the fund and invest it no loss or gain is recognized because its liability is of contributing that amount only. However in benefit plan the company promised to pay certain amount to employees due to which it has to recognize gain or losses and liability. 5. What are the earnings-per-share amounts disclosed on the income statement for the most recent year? What dilutive securities are discussed in the footnotes? Please identify and describe other examples of dilutive securities. How do these impact earnings per share? Diluted EPS: Effect on EPS of Dilutive: Dilutive EPS is calculated due to the Debt securities company issued to which company offers for conversion from debt security to Company shares. If converted, the denominator will increase and hence EPS will decrease. Other types of dilutive shares: The other types of diluted shares are warrants and share option. Bonus shares may also dilute EPS. 6. What kind of share-based compensation does the company have? What was the compensation expense for the two most recent years? What are the key elements of this plan discussed in the footnotes? Please identify and describe other types of share-based compensation. Share based Payments The Company has two kind of share based compensation one is that the company receives employees’ service in exchange of equity instrument, or of recognizing liabilities that are based on the fair value of the company stock or may be settled through issuance. The elements: The key element in the foot note is the difference between restricted stock Unit and stock option plan. In RSU’s the compensation cost is measured by closing fair value of stock at grant date. However in stock option the valuation at grant date is done through Black-Scholes-Merton (â€Å"BSM†) option-pricing model. Other types of compensation: The other types of compensation is that employees to whom compensation is paid is left with the choice whether to take cash settled i.e. by incurring liabilities or by equity settlements. 7. Does the company use the direct or indirect cash flow presentation method? What is the difference between these two methods? How does the cash flow statement agree to the other financial statements? APPLE INC. uses indirect method of cash flow. The main difference in direct and indirect method is of operating activities section. In direct method of cash flow there is a sum of all check and deposits in a particular category whereas in indirect method of cash flow we have to make adjustments in order to arrive at net cash flow from operating activities. Net cash balance calculated in the cash flow statement agrees with cash balance in the balance sheet. 8. What investing and financing activities does the company have? What are some other examples of investing and financing activities? Company has following investing activities: Purchases of marketable securities, Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities, Proceeds from sales of marketable securities, Payments made in connection with business acquisitions, net of cash acquired Payments for acquisition of property, plant and equipment and Payments for acquisition of intangible assets. Other examples of investing activities are purchase/sale of long term investments and purchase/sale of debt or equity securities of other companies. Financing activities of company: Proceeds from issuance of common stock, Excess tax benefits from equity awards and Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards. Other examples of financing activities are sale of equity securities, issuance of bonds and notes, dividend paid and redeem long term debt. 9. What non-cash transactions does the company have on its cash flow statement? What are some other examples of non-cash transactions? Following are the non cash transactions of the company on its cash flow statement: $(000) Depreciation, amortization and accretion 1,814 Share-based compensation expense 1,168 Deferred income tax expense 2,868 Other non cash-transaction examples are provisions, unrealized foreign currency gains/losses and minority interests. Conclusion: This course project shows evidence in Apple’s strict guidelines and how they run their business. Comparing the numbers they have posted on their site I’m able to physically see how certain liabilities and Assets are moved and balanced in different quarters throughout the year. Seeing this also allows me to understand on how they operate in a bigger scale from a bird’s eye view. Since they are such a large company they do not hesitate to report all their taxes and pay the full amount without using shortcuts that most smaller companies are able to get away with. Based on the report from 2011 and 2010 Apple prioritizes their tax expenses with alacrity and with their triple checked system it truly leaves no room for error in their accounting department. By looking into their books, I can conclude that this company is in strong standing and that they will be around for a long time maybe for another 100 years. Most companies don’t have that kind of net value since they fall into category of accrued debt paying off an impossible bill of benefits to their employees. Works Cited: http://investor.apple.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-11-282113&CIK=320193 http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-balance-sheet?symbol=AAPL& http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/IncomeStatement.jsp?tkr=aapl&period=qtr http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/Ratios.jsp?tkr=aapl

My grandmother Essays

My grandmother Essays My grandmother Essay My grandmother Essay My grandmother and grandfather have kept a small group of extremely close friends, which she has found to be very rewarding as a social support group. The hardest part of getting older that my grandmother has found is seeing many of their close friends leave for the great social circle in the sky as she put it, but she found that working hard at keeping those who were important to her close to her was incredibly rewarding. The close friendships she maintained were the best support she ever found throughout her life. Friends that she kept close had many of the same values she did, or values she admired and aspired to obtain. Social support has also come from her family, a value that she obtained at an early age living with so many close relatives. Her entire family, two children, son and daughter-in laws and grandchildren all keep very close ties and provide frequent visits, phone calls, and e-mails to make sure that she is doing well. Although she a world-renowned writer and one would think her pride would lie mostly with her career, it is a true showcase of my grandmothers character that out of everything in life she is proudest of her children. She is especially proud of her son (my father) Joseph who is an incredible parent to his two children. Being a parent has been an unparalleled and most rewarding experience, and she takes great pride in her children and grandchildren as well. Secondly, she is most proud of her wonderful 56-year relationship with my grandfather and the strength of their marriage. Taking a back seat to family and friendship, my grandmother is also very proud of the National Book Award that she won in 2000 for her book Homeless Bird. The award was an exciting validation of a continuing career in childrens literature. The most prominent aspect of my grandmothers life has been her faith. Beginning when she was young, she was impressed and influenced by her fathers faith and hope throughout the Great Depression. All of her decision-making has been guided by the hand of God, and she feels that her faith really formed her. She believes that choices we make and the path we chose are all part of Gods plan for us, mistakes and lessons are learned and we are so often blessed with that which we might not deserve to help us see his guiding hand. Her great faith has helped her realize the incredible benefits of aging; the on-going quest and acquiring of knowledge is a truly spiritual and nearly inconceivable process. As one grows older they gain massive quantities of life experience to draw on and become more cognizant of their faults, often utilizing the looking glass self which allows others to reveal their failings to them. Aging, my grandmother has found, ultimately leads to a greater sense of identity and self. My grandmother is truly the picture of generativity. Her concern for the next generation is very apparent in her writing as she tries to preserve historical evidence and present it to children through her fictional writing. She is obviously aware of the many ways in which she has been blessed and very sensitive to the wants and needs of her husband who now genuinely needs her support. She has reached old age and faces death with a sense of integrity; her faith has lead her through a satisfying and meaningful life. Although she realizes that she is reaching the end, she is celebrating the many gifts life has presented her with and is satisfied with what she has been able to offer to others. The respect that I have for my grandmother is continually increasing, I do not know if I will ever be able to put into words how much of an idol she has served as for me in how I have shaped and the courses I have chosen in life. She has taught me the importance of a strong sense of self, how to value close friendships. She has shown me the wonderful support system and overall warmth family brings to ones life. Her amazing faith, which guided her through hardships and times of joy, showed me the importance of self-transcendence and the relationship I would someday like to build with God. Her steadfast and strong relationship with my grandfather has re-emphasized the importance of finding a true life partner and developing a relationship where conflict can be overcome. In her telling me about the social development and self-discovery she achieved in college I realize the importance of maximizing my college career and truly finding what I am passionate about as early in my life as I can. My father is a wonderful parent and I see how having children and watching them raise their own children can become the most rewarding experience in a persons life. I have inherited my passion for writing from my grandmother and I hope that someday I will be as skilled at using words to paint a picture is she is. The chapters of my grandmothers life have enlightened me greatly, as a quote from Anton Chekhov suggests her writing inspires me to do the same, Dont tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.

How to Use a Hurricane Tracking Chart

How to Use a Hurricane Tracking Chart A popular activity during hurricane  season is to track the path and progress of tropical storms and hurricanes. Known as hurricane tracking, its a creative way to teach hurricane awareness, learn about storm intensities, and to create and keep your own hurricane records from season to season. Materials Needed: Access to the latest tropical storm and hurricane forecastsA hurricane tracking map/chartA pencilAn eraserColored pencils (blue, light blue, green, yellow, red, pink, magenta, purple, white)A ruler (not required) Getting Started: Monitor the National Hurricane Center for current tropical cyclone activity. Once an invest develops into a tropical depression, subtropical depression, or stronger, its time to start tracking it.Plot the storms first position.To do this, find its geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude). (The positive () number, or the one followed by the letter N, is latitude; the negative (-) number, or the one followed by the letter W, is longitude.) Once you have the coordinates, move your pencil along the right edge of the chart to locate the latitude. Using a ruler to guide your hand in a straight line, move your pencil across horizontally from this point until you find the longitude. Draw a very small circle at the point where the latitude and longitude meet.Label the storm by either writing its name next to the first plot point, or drawing a small box and writing the storm number inside.Continue to track the storm by plotting its position twice daily, at 12 UTC and 00 UTC. Dots repres enting the 00 UTC  position should be filled in. Dots representing the 12 UTC position should be left unfilled. Label each 12 UTC plot point with the calendar day (i.e., 7 for the 7th).Use the Hurricane Tracking Chart key (at the bottom of the page) and your colored pencils to connect the dots with the appropriate colors and/or patterns.When the storm dissipates, write its name or storm number (like in step #3 above) next to its final plot point.(Optional) You may also want to label the storms minimum pressure. (This tells where the storm was at its strongest.) Find the minimum pressure value and the date and time it occurred. Write this value next to the corresponding section of the storm track, then draw an arrow between them.Follow steps 1-8 for all storms forming during the season. If you miss a storm, visit one of these sites for past hurricane data: National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Advisory ArchiveAn archive of advisories and storm summary information. (Click on the storm name, then choose the 00 and 12 UTC public advisories. Storm location and wind speed/intensity will be listed under the summary section at top of the page.) Unisys Weather Tropical Advisory Archive 404An archive of tropical cyclone products, advisories, and bulletins from season years 2005-present. (Scroll through the index to choose the desired date and time. Click on the corresponding file link.) Need an Example? To see a finished map with storms already plotted, check out the NHCs Past Track Seasonal Maps. Hurricane Tracking Chart Key Line Color Storm Type Pressure (mb) Wind (mph) Wind (knots) Blue Subtropical Depression 38 or less 33 or less Light Blue Subtropical Storm 39-73 34-63 Green Tropical Depression (TD) 38 or less 33 or less Yellow Tropical Storm (TS) 980 + 39-73 34-63 Red Hurricane (Cat 1) 980 or less 74-95 64-82 Pink Hurricane (Cat 2) 965-980 96-110 83-95 Magenta Major Hurricane (Cat 3) 945-965 111-129 96-112 Purple Major Hurricane (Cat 4) 920-945 130-156 113-136 White Major Hurricane (Cat 5) 920 or less 157 + 137 + Green dashed (- - -) Wave/Low/Disturbance Black hatched (+++) Extratropical Cyclone

Other Ways of Using the Spanish Preposition ‘A’

Other Ways of Using the Spanish Preposition ‘A’ Although the Spanish preposition a is usually used to indicate motion toward and thus often translated as to, it also is frequently used to form phrases that can explain how something is done or to describe nouns as well as in time expressions. Using A to Mean ‘In the Style Of’ One common use of a is similar to its use in a few English phrases, such as a la carte and a la mode that come to us via French. This use indicates the way in which something is done or, less commonly, forms a phrase that functions as an adjective. Spanish phrases using a in this way usually cant be translated word for word, although it is often useful to think of a as meaning in the style of. Here are some examples of a being used in adverbial phrases (phrases that act like adverbs): Amar no es nada ms que andar a ciegas. (Love is nothing more than walking blindly.)Imgenes de televisià ³n muestran a un soldado ejecutando a quemarropa a una madre. (Television images show a soldier executing a mother at point-blank range.)La actriz se casà ³ a escondidas. (The actress was secretly married.)La votacià ³n se hizo a mano alzada. (The voting was done by a show of hands.)El zumo y la leche se vende a galones. (Juice and milk are sold by the gallon.)El bebà © andaba a gatas, descubriendo el mundo. (The baby is walking on all fours, discovering the world.)El sentido del olfato es a menudo el primero en advertirnos acerca de un peligro que somos incapaces de ver. (The sense of smell is often the first to warn us of a danger that we are unable to see.) A similar construction can used to form adjectival phrases (phrases that describe nouns): Walter conocià ³ a Nadia en una cita a ciegas que le ha organizado su hermano. (Walter met Nadia on a blind date that his brother set up.)Nunca entre a una casa con un nià ±o a solas. (Never enter a house with a child alone.)Era el viaje a caballo ms largo de la historia. (It was the longest horseback ride in history.) ‘A La’ Phrases It is common to form adverbial (and sometimes adjectival) phrases by using a la followed by noun that has the form of a feminine adjective. These phrases typically of the meaning of in the _____ style and are most iften used with geographical terms. There are also a few phrases beginning with a lo followed by a masculine adjective or noun. Las papas fritas a la francesa se llaman chips en Inglaterra. (French-fried potatoes are called chips in England.)Hoy en Europa es imposible un liberalismo a la americana. (Today in Europe, an American-style liberalism is impossible.)Se sirve un desayuno a la mexicana. (They serve a Mexican-style breakfast.)A la moderna, optaron por no casarse. (In the way things are done today, they chose not to marry.)El cantante dijo adià ³s a lo grande. (The singer said goodbye in style.)Se lava a lo gato. (He washes himself like a cat (i.e., while barely getting wet). Using A for ‘At’ A can also be used to indicate how often something occurs or indicate relationships in much the same as as the English at when it isnt being used in the context of a location.  ¡Un paso a la vez! (One step at a time!)Venden a dos pesos el kilo. (They sell at two pesos per kilo.)El encontrar calidad en un producto a un precio bajo puede crear ms satisfaccià ³n. (Finding quality at a product at a low price can create more satisfaction.)Le agencia aceptar a 10 por ciento de aspirantes a licenciatura. (The agency will accept applicants for licensing at a rate of 10 percent.) Using A in Time Expressions Many time expressions use a much like at and sometimes per is used: Patricia y yo salimos a las 9:30. (Patricia and I are leaving at 9:30.)Comienza a las cinco de la tarde. (It begins at 5 in the afternoon.)Muchos trabajamos 40 horas a la semana. (Many of us work 40 hours per week.) ¿Es posible amar a dos personas a mismo tiempo? (Is it possible to love two people at the same time?) Key Takeaways Although the common Spanish preposition a usually means to, it can be used in ways that dont refer to motion or location.An abundance of phrases beginning with a can function as adverbial or adjectival modifiers.A is also often used in time expressions, usually to mean at.

Islamic finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Islamic finance - Essay Example In this regard, the Islamic financial system with the assistance of macroeconomic models is able to conduct their operations effective in the Islamic economy. Islamic financial system came into existence in the mid-1980s wherein this system was practiced mostly in the Muslim communities that eventually nurtured trade and commercial activities in numerous nations. Islamic merchants became the brokers of trade related activities in Spanish and Mediterranean regions, which helped in promoting Islamic finance amid European financiers and capitalists. In the modern day context, Islamic finance has made a huge impact in various parts of the world, as it has been promptly growing in the financial sector. Islamic finance is not just limited to Islamic nations, but it has spread to other nations wherein the Muslim community is quite large. It has been identified that there are over 100 financial institutions using Islamic finance and the system is presently practiced in more than 45 nations. Industries using Islamic finance have witnessed a growth rate of 15% in their annual turnover from the estimation of the last five years financial performance s. Accordingly, it has been witnessed that the market’s annual turnover has grown to about 70 billion USD as compared to 5 billion USD in the year 1985. It has been further estimated that markets, which use Islamic finance will witness a growth of 100 billion USD by next century. In reality, Islamic finance commenced successfully from the time when the Islamic nations obtained surplus profit in their oil exporting businesses. It will be worth mentioning that anatomic and macroeconomic reforms in the financial system, privatisation of industries, assimilation of the financial markets and liberalisation of capital have cemented the growth of the Islamic financial system (Iqbal, 1997). The paper is primarily intended to summarise the chapter ‘The Financial System and Monetary Policy in an Islamic

SBU Objective and Goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SBU Objective and Goals - Essay Example Reposition Strongbow Cider in the Australian market and try to capture market share of the particular segment by new product launches. Introduce the brand in the US and selected European market, which have a strong potential for this kind of product sales. Develop the brand in South Eastern markets like China and Malaysia by effective product penetration and repositioning the brand. Introduce Strongbow Cider in emerging markets like India which has a huge youth population. Recommended Strategies Recommendation of strategies is similar to envisioning the desired upshot for and organization or SBU in a perfectly planned and well designed manner2 (Jurgen C Schmidt and Martyn Laycock, 2011). The most important theory that comes in to play in this context is the Ansoff Matrix, which has been associated with designing organizational growth strategies with relation to identification and development of new and existing products and markets. A very crucial part of it involves around the devel opment of new product in an effort to capture an existing market or even a market. At times, product development is needed to capture the minds of the customers and to promote innovativeness in the product. An innovative product which gives the company with some growth in product sales is worth the financial and manpower expenses that are associated with the product development3 (Queensland Government, 2011). Many a times, product innovation is promoted in response to market research that is conducted over a particular geographical area, region or location. At times, innovative ideas related to the product development originate even at the shop floors, which is then taken up for consideration by the top officials4 (Gary Yakimov and Lindsey Woolsey, 2010). Also another important factor is the price, when a new product is launched in a new market. Choosing the right kind of pricing technique in the strategic marketing and business plan is very essential when it comes to placing the pr oduct in a completely new market. In the UK market, the brand Strongbow has a high recall amongst the consumers and is continuously trying to connect with the target audience by promoting the brand strongly by using the social media like Facebook and Twitter5 (James Hall, 2011). So as a part of the recommended strategy for the UK segment, it is advisable to hold and retain the strong brand recall that the brand has in the market through continuous efforts of connecting with the young target audience by organizing various marketing and promotional campaigns. For the Australian market, which happens to be the home ground for the brand, it is recommended that a new variation of the product, which will be a part of the product development process, has to be introduced under the same brand as an effort to appeal to the consumers of the local market. It has also been point of discussion in various reports that Strongbow cider is available for distribution only in markets of UK, China, Mal aysia and Singapore. So it can be said that the product is opting for selective market distribution and as a part of the previously designed strategy, the US and some of the key European markets have been left out. But in order to develop and position the brand in a global manner, and to increase the recall for this brand from consumers all over the globe, it is considered increasingly essential to promote the brand of

The Sources of Conflict in the Middle East Essay

The Sources of Conflict in the Middle East - Essay Example 142). Other theories such as international relations, religious conflict and civil war theories have been used to explain the sources of conflict in the Middle East. Theories of international relations conceptualize what drives state-to-state relations and state behaviour. There are essentially two main theories of international relations: liberalists and neo-realists theories. Liberalists theorize that the spread of liberal politics will eventually lead to world peace while neo-realists theorize that the forces driving the international system encourages all states to â€Å"look to their own self-interests and to prepare for war† (Linklater 2000, p. 833). Looked at from the liberalist theory of international relations the sources of conflict in the Middle East derive from the fact that the region is comprised of non-liberal or non-democratic regimes. Liberalists argue that â€Å"political systems externalize norms of behviour that characterize their domestic process and inst itutions† (Attar 2009, p. 97). Therefore, democratic political systems focus on â€Å"peace† and â€Å"compromise† (Attar 2009, p. 97). Non-democratic political systems on the other hand, focus on â€Å"the elimination or subjugation of political opponents and the forceful resolution of political conflict† (Attar 2009, p. 97). ... It is conceptualized that liberal states temper conflicts among the citizenry because it not only protects human rights, but encourages citizens to express discontent (Sorli 2001). However, it can be argued that non-liberal states can also temper conflict by suppressing citizens’ rights to express discontent (Sorli 2001). It therefore follows that the liberalist theory of international relations is not a satisfactory explanation for the source of conflict in the Middle East. The non-democratic regimes in the Middle East can just as easily contribute to peace as it can contribute to conflict. According to Maoz, Landau and Malz (2004), the neo-realists theory of international relations finds currency in the modern history of the Middle East. According to the neo-realist theory of international relations, states are driven by self-interests and power politics to such an extent that conflict regionally and/or globally is unavoidable. As Maoz et al (2004) argues, Arab states in the Middle East often express a â€Å"common heritage†, yet they may exhibit conduct and values that are inconsistent with that heritage. Egypt made an attempt to harmonize Arab heritage in the Middle East during the 1950s and 1960s and was frequently in conflict with Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Other attempts to harmonize the Arab Middle East such as the Baghdad Pact sponsored by the UK and the US also resulted in regional conflicts such as the Egyptian-Iraqi conflict during the 1950s (Maoz et al 2004). Power politics as espoused by neo-realist theories is also confirmed by Nasser’s attempt to circumvent and dismantle the monarchies in Arab and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and Jordan responded with hostility. As Maoz et al (2004) observed:

1 Year Strategic Digital Marketing Plan with a view as to how this may Essay

1 Year Strategic Digital Marketing Plan with a view as to how this may be developed over three years - Essay Example The company is dedicated to inspire the disabled youngsters in the United Kingdom to actively participate in different kinds of sporting activities and events. The company also provides the disabled kids and young people with sports grants which can be used in the training, travel, physiotherapy, competition fees and development and design of sports wheelchairs. The aim of Get Kids Going (GKG) is to provide long term support and encourage the disabled children and youngsters in the country to achieve the dreams regarding their sports careers and their goals to become sporting athletes. The company recognizes that there are many talented youngsters in the country who dream to become athletes and runners. However, the enormous expenses required for training to become an athlete and to participate in the sports events like marathon act as restraints to the achievement of these dreams by the young disabled sports aspirants. The activities of the company are supported by the sponsorships of different marathon runners and athletes. Hundreds of athletes and runners in the country are supportive of the activities of Get Kids Going (GKG). These runners support the functioning of Get Kids Going (GKG) by running in various national and international sporting events like the Bupa Great North Run, Paris Marathon, New York marathon, Virgin London marathon, Ride London 100 Cycling Challenge, Berlin Marathon, L’Etape du Tour and other sports events taking place indifferent countries of the world. The support of donation and charity given by many companies, schools, trusts and individuals are also critical for the continuity of the activities of Get Kids Going (GKG). A digital marketing plan involves the use of digital and electronic medium as an important medium for promoting and selling the products and services of a company (Sadler, 2001). Get Kids

Explore one persons relationship with a public space Essay

Explore one persons relationship with a public space - Essay Example He attends the national stadium at least once every weekend as part of his leisure activities. The national stadium is a place where crowds of people frequent especially when there are national matches during the sports season. To conduct an interview with Mr. Williamson, I started by creating a rapport with him. After identifying him, I approached him and after a short familiarization, I talked him about the purpose of my interview. I assured him that the interview was meant only for learning purpose and not for any other malicious reason. It is after this assurance that he expressed his willingness to answer my question. The main purpose of my interview was to investigate Mr. Williamson’s relationship with the public space. I intended to know the extent to which he associated with this physical space and the role this adventure played in his life. To obtain more information, I preferred to use open-ended question to give him the freedom give the interview a direction. I leant that the national stadium is one place that he visits more frequent than all other places. For the last years, he had not failed to visit this place for at least once on a weekend. He had strong connection for this place and he expressed that he did not have any plans to stop attending the place. One of the reasons why Williamson likes to visit this place is because he is a strong fan of football. I learnt that football is one Williamson’s favorite hobby and since the stadium offers an opportunity for him to have a live view of the national team playing, he finds it an exciting place to visit. Therefore, his visit there is part of fulfilling his hobby. Williamson’s desire for football started a long time ago when he was still a small child. He described the moments that he spent playing football and his participation in the school team. In the previous company that he had worked, they had a football team and he was one of the

1 Year Strategic Digital Marketing Plan with a view as to how this may Essay

1 Year Strategic Digital Marketing Plan with a view as to how this may be developed over three years - Essay Example The company is dedicated to inspire the disabled youngsters in the United Kingdom to actively participate in different kinds of sporting activities and events. The company also provides the disabled kids and young people with sports grants which can be used in the training, travel, physiotherapy, competition fees and development and design of sports wheelchairs. The aim of Get Kids Going (GKG) is to provide long term support and encourage the disabled children and youngsters in the country to achieve the dreams regarding their sports careers and their goals to become sporting athletes. The company recognizes that there are many talented youngsters in the country who dream to become athletes and runners. However, the enormous expenses required for training to become an athlete and to participate in the sports events like marathon act as restraints to the achievement of these dreams by the young disabled sports aspirants. The activities of the company are supported by the sponsorships of different marathon runners and athletes. Hundreds of athletes and runners in the country are supportive of the activities of Get Kids Going (GKG). These runners support the functioning of Get Kids Going (GKG) by running in various national and international sporting events like the Bupa Great North Run, Paris Marathon, New York marathon, Virgin London marathon, Ride London 100 Cycling Challenge, Berlin Marathon, L’Etape du Tour and other sports events taking place indifferent countries of the world. The support of donation and charity given by many companies, schools, trusts and individuals are also critical for the continuity of the activities of Get Kids Going (GKG). A digital marketing plan involves the use of digital and electronic medium as an important medium for promoting and selling the products and services of a company (Sadler, 2001). Get Kids

Personal aspect of your own Hero's Journey Assignment

Personal aspect of your own Hero's Journey - Assignment Example From the Hero’s journey, I believe ‘The Road of the Trials’ is aptly driven to make me understand the nuances that I had to go through. These essentially included the basis of a series of tests, tasks and ordeals that I had to undergo in order to start my transformation. The incident basically started from the ideology that all aspiring candidates were asked to give in their completed forms and thus finish the documentation process so that any issues that might arise within the future were tackled in an amicable fashion. Since I have always been one of those individuals who believe in getting their work done before time, I was astounded to know that I will not be allowed to take the test for the university that I was willing to be a part of in the coming times. This was a serious setback for me and I had to make amends for it at the earliest. I had to think and think fast because this was much needed. My actions were supposed to be based on pure logic because these were essential to reach a conclusion. I spoke to one of my good friends who were already a part of this university, advising me to get in touch with an individual who shall help me out. I did so without any hesitation, taking along the photocopied versions of my completed documentation fo rms for the university. This proved as the decisive blow because I was able to get in touch with the right person who would help me out. I told him the entire story and apprised him of the mistake that the university officials had undertaken. He went through my whole documentation process and asked me to get in touch with him the next day. I did so and was glad to know that he had spoken to the relevant people who would allow me to sit for the university exam because my documentation was correct and I had contacted someone who knew how things were conducted in a

Art After Philosophy (1969) Joseph Kosuth Essay Example for Free

Art After Philosophy (1969) Joseph Kosuth Essay The fact that it has recently become fashionable for physicists themselves to be sympathetic toward religion . . . marks the physicists’ own lack of confidence in the validity of their hypotheses, which is a reaction on their part from the antireligious dogmatism of nineteenth-century scientists, and a natural outcome of the crisis through which physics has just passed. –A. J. Ayer. . . . once one has understood the Tractatus there will be no temptation to concern oneself anymore with philosophy, which is neither empirical like science nor tautological like mathematics; one will, like Wittgenstein in 1918, abandon philosophy, which, as traditionally understood, is rooted in confusion. –J. O. Urmson. Traditional philosophy, almost by definition, has concerned itself with the unsaid. The nearly exclusive focus on the said by twentieth-century analytical linguistic philosophers is the shared contention that the unsaid is unsaid because it is unsayable. Hegelian philosophy made sense in the nineteenth century and must have been soothing to a century that was barely getting over Hume, the Enlightenment, and Kant.1 Hegel’s philosophy was also capable of giving cover for a defense of religious beliefs, supplying an alternative to Newtonian mechanics, and fitting in with the growth of history as a discipline, as well as accepting Darwinian biology.2 He appeared to give an acceptable resolution to the conflict between theology and science, as well. The result of Hegel’s influence has been that a great majority of contemporary philosophers are really little more than historians of philosophy, Librarians of the Truth, so to speak. One begins to get the impression that there â€Å"is nothing more to be said.† And certainly if one realizes the implications of Wittgenstein’s thinking, and the thinking influenced by him and after him, â€Å"Continental† philosophy need not seriously be considered here.3 Is there a reason for the â€Å"unreality† of philosophy in our time? Perhaps this can be answered by looking into the difference between our time and the centuries preceding us. In the past man’s conclusions about the world were based on the information he had about it – if not specifically like the empiricists, then generally like the rationalists. Often in fact, the closeness between science and philosophy was so great that scientists and philosophers were one and the same person. In fact, from the times of Thales, Epicurus, Heraclitus, and Aristotle to Descartes and Leibnitz, â€Å"the great names in philosophy were often great names in science as well.†4 That the world as perceived by twentieth-century science is a vastly different one than the one of its preceding century, need not be proved here. Is it possible, then, that in effect man has learned so much, and his â€Å"intelligence† is such, that he cannot believe the reasoning of traditional philosophy? That perhaps he knows too much about the world to make those kinds of conclusions? As Sir James Jeans has stated: . . . When philosophy has availed itself of the results of science, it has not been by borrowing the abstract mathematical description of the pattern of events, but by borrowing the then current pictorial description of this pattern; thus it has not appropriated certain knowledge but conjectures. These conjectures were often good enough for the man-sized world, but not, as we now know, for those ultimate processes of nature which control the happenings of the man-sized world, and bring us nearest to the true nature of reality.5 He continues: One consequence of this is that the standard philosophical discussions of many problems, such as those of causality and free will orof materialism or mentalism, are based on an interpretation of the pattern of events which is no longer tenable. The scientific basis of these older discussions has been washed away, and with their disappearance have gone all the arguments . . .6 The twentieth century brought in a time that could be called â€Å"the end of philosophy and the beginning of art.† I do not mean that, of course, strictly speaking, but rather as the â€Å"tendency† of the situation. Certainly linguistic philosophy can be considered the heir to empiricism, but it’s a philosophy in one gear.7 And there is certainly an â€Å"art condition† to art preceding Duchamp, but its other functions or reasons-to-be are so pronounced that its ability to function clearly as art limits its art condition so drastically that it’s only minimally art.8 In no mechanistic sense is there a connection between philosophy’s â€Å"ending† and art’s â€Å"beginning,† but I don’t find this occurrence entirely coincidental. Though the same reasons may be responsible for both occurrences, the connection is made by me. I bring this all up to analyze art’s function and subsequently its viability. And I do so to enable others to understand the reasoning of my – and, by extension, other artists’ – art, as well to provide a clearer understanding of the term â€Å"Conceptual art.†9 THE FUNCTION OF ART The main qualifications to the lesser position of painting is that advances in art are certainly not always formal ones. –Donald Judd (1963). Half or more of the best new work in the last few years has been neither painting nor sculpture. – Donald Judd (1965). Everything sculpture has, my work doesn’t. –Donald Judd (1967). The idea becomes a machine that makes the art. –Sol LeWitt (1965) The one thing to say about art is that it is one thing. Art is art-as-art and everything else is everything else. Art as art is nothing but art. Art is not what is not art. –Ad Reinhardt (1963). The meaning is the use. –Wittgenstein. A more functional approach to the study of concepts has tended to replace the method of introspection. Instead of attempting to grasp or describe concepts bare, so to speak, the psychologist investigates the way in which they function as ingredients in beliefs and in judgments. –Irving M. Copi. Meaning is always a presupposition of function. –T. Segerstedt. . . . the subject matter of conceptual investigations is the meaning of certain words and expressions – and not the things and states of affairs themselves about which we talk, when using those words and expressions. –G. H. Von Wright. Thinking is radically metaphoric. Linkage by analogy is its constituent law or principle, its causal nexus, since meaning only arises through the causal contexts by which a sign stands for (takes the place of) an instance of a sort. To think of anything is to take it as of a sort (as a such and such) and that â€Å"as† brings in (openly or in disguise) the analogy, the parallel, the metaphoric grapple or ground or grasp or draw by which alone the mind takes hold. It takes no hold if there is nothing for it to haul from, for its thinking is the haul, the attraction of likes –I. A. Richards. In this section I will discuss the separation between aesthetics and art; consider briefly formalist art (because it is a leading proponent of the idea of aesthetics as art), and assert that art is analogous to an analytic proposition, and that it is art’s existence as a tautology that enables art to remain â€Å"aloof† from philosophical presumptions. It is necessary to separate aesthetics from art because aesthetics deals with opinions on perception of the world in general. In the past one of the two prongs of art’s function was its value as decoration. So any branch of philosophy that dealt with â€Å"beauty† and thus, taste, was inevitably duty bound to discuss art as well. Out of this â€Å"habit† grew the notion that there was a conceptual connection between art and aesthetics, which is not true. This idea never drastically conflicted with artistic considerations before recent times, not only because the morphological characteristics of art perpetuated the continuity of this error, but as well, because the apparent other â€Å"functions† of art (depiction of religious themes, portraiture of aristocrats, detailing of architecture, etc.) used art to cover up art. When objects are presented within the context of art (and until recently objects always have been used) they are as eligible for aesthetic consideration as are any objects in the world, and an aesthetic consideration of an object existing in the realm of art means that the object’s existence or functioning in an art context is irrelevant to the aesthetic judgment. The relation of aesthetics to art is not unlike that of aesthetics to architecture, in that architecture has a very specific function and how â€Å"good† its design is is primarily related to how well it performs its function. Thus, judgments on what it looks like correspond to taste, and we can see that throughout history different examples of architecture are praised at different times depending on the aesthetics of particular epochs. Aesthetic thinking has even gone so far as to make examples of architecture not related to â€Å"art† at all, works of art in themselves (e.g., the pyramids of Egypt). Aesthetic considerations are indeed always extraneous to an object’s function or â€Å"reason-tobe.† Unless of course, that object’s reason-to-be is strictly aesthetic. An example of a purely aesthetic object is a decorative object, for decoration’s primary function is â€Å"to add something to, so as to make more attractive; adorn; ornament,†10 and this relates directly to taste. And this leads us directly to â€Å"formalist† art and criticism.11 Formalist art (painting and sculpture) is the vanguard of decoration, and, strictly speaking, one could reasonably assert that its art condition is so minimal that for all functional purposes it is not art at all, but pure exercises in aesthetics. Above all things Clement Greenberg is the critic of taste. Behind every one of his decisions is an aesthetic judgment, with those judgments reflecting his taste. And what does his taste reflect? The period he grew up in as a critic, the period â€Å"real† for him: the fifties.12 How else can one account for, given his theories – if they have any logic to them at all – his disinterest in Frank Stella, Ad Reinhardt, and others applicable to his historical scheme? Is it because he is â€Å". . . basically unsympathetic on personally experiential grounds†?13 Or, in other words, â€Å"their work doesn’t suit his taste?† But in the philosophic tabula rasa of art, â€Å"if someone calls it art,† as Don Judd has said, â€Å"it’s art.† Given this, formalist painting and sculpture can be granted an â€Å"art condition,† but only by virtue of their presentation in terms of their art idea (e.g., a rectangular-shaped canvas stretched over wooden supports and stained with such and such colors, using such and such forms, giving such and such a visual experience, etc.). If one looks at contemporary art in this light one realizes the minimal creative effort taken on the part of formalist artists specifically, an d all painters and sculptors (working as such today) generally. This brings us to the realization that formalist art and criticism accepts as a definition of art one that exists solely on morphological grounds. While a vast quantity of similar looking objects or images (or visually related objects or images) may seem to be related (or connected) because of a similarity of visual/experiential â€Å"readings,† one cannot claim from this an artistic or conceptual relationship. It is obvious then that formalist criticism’s reliance on morphology leads necessarily with a bias toward the morphology of traditional art. And in this sense their criticism is not related to a â€Å"scientific method† or any sort of empiricism (as Michael Fried, with his detailed descriptions of paintings and other â€Å"scholarly† paraphernalia would want us to believe). Formalist criticism is no more than an analysis of the physical attributes of particular objects that happen to exist in a morphological context. But this doesn’t add any knowledge (or facts) to our understanding of the nature or function of art. And neither does it comment on whether or not the objects analyzed are even works of art, in that formalist critics always bypass the conceptual element in works of art. Exactly why they don’t comment on the conceptual element in works of art is precisely because formalist art is only art by virtue of its resemblance to earlier works of art. It’s a mindless art. Or, as Lucy Lippard so succinctly described Jules Olitski’s paintings: â€Å"they’re visual Muzak.† 14 Formalist critics and artists alike do not question the nature of art, but as I have said elsewhere: Being an artist now means to question the nature of art. If one is questioning the nature of painting, one cannot be questioning the nature of art. If an artist accepts painting (or sculpture) he is accepting the tradition that goes with it. That’s because the word art is general and the word painting is specific. Painting is a kind of art. If you make paintings you are already accepting (not questioning) the nature of art. One is then accepting the nature of art to be the European tradition of a painting-sculpture dichotomy.15 The strongest objection one can raise against a morphological justification for traditional art is that morphological notions of art embody an implied a priori concept of art’s possibilities. And such an a priori concept of the nature of art (as separate from analytically framed art propositions or â€Å"work,† which I will discuss later) makes it, indeed, a priori: impossible to question the nature of art. And this questioning of the nature of art is a very important concept in understanding the function of art. The function of art, as a question, was first raised by Marcel Duchamp. In fact it is Marcel Duchamp whom we can credit with giving art its own identity. (One can certainly see a tendency toward this self-identification of art beginning with Manet and Cà ©zanne through to Cubism,16 but their works are timid and ambiguous by comparison with Duchamp’s.) â€Å"Modern† art and the work before seemed connected by virtue of their morphology. Another way of putting it would be that art’s â€Å"language† remained the same, but it was saying new things. The event that made conceivable the realization that it was possible to â€Å"speak another language† and still make sense in art was Marcel Duchamp’s first unassisted Ready-made. With the unassisted Ready-made, art changed its focus from the form of the language to what was being said. Which means that it changed the nature of art from a question of morphology to a question of function. This change – one from â€Å"appearance† to â€Å"conception† – was the beginning of â€Å"modern† art and the beginning of conceptual art. All art (after Duchamp) is conceptual (in nature) because art only exists conceptually. The â€Å"value† of particular artists after Duchamp can be weighed according to how much they questioned the nature of art; which is another way of saying â€Å"what they added to the conception of art† or what wasn’t there before they started. Artists question the nature of art by presenting new propositions as to art’s nature. And to do this one cannot concern oneself with the handed-down â€Å"language† of traditional art, as this activity is based on the assumption that there is only one way of framing art propositions. But the very stuff of art is indeed greatly related to â€Å"creating† new propositions. The case is often made – particularly in reference to Duchamp – that objects of art (such as the Ready-mades, of course, but all art is implied in this) are judged as objets d’art in later years and the artists’ intentions become irrelevant. Such an argument is the case of a preconceived notion ordering together not necessarily related facts. The point is this: aesthetics, as we have pointed out, are conceptually irrelevant to art. Thus, any physical thing can become objet d’art, that is to say, can be considered tasteful, aesthetically pleasing, etc. But this has no bearing on the object’s application to an art context; that is, its functioning in an art context. (E.g., if a collector takes a painting, attaches legs, and uses it as a dining table it’s an act unrelated to art or the artist because, as art, that wasn’t the artist’s intention.) And what holds true for Duchamp’s work applies as well to most of the art after him. In other words, the value of Cubism – for instance – is its idea in the realm of art, not the physical or visual qualities seen in a specific painting, or the particularization of certain colors or shapes. For these colors and shapes are the art’s â€Å"language,† not its meaning conceptually as art. To look upon a Cubist â€Å"masterwork† now as art is nonsensical, conceptually speaking, as far as art is concerned. (That visual information that was unique in Cubism’s language has now been generally absorbed and has a lot to do with the way in which one deals with painting â€Å"linguistically.† [E.g., what a Cubist painting meant experimentally and conceptually to, say, Gertrude Stein, is beyond our speculation because the same painting then â€Å"meant† something different than it does now.]) The â€Å"value† now of an original Cubist painting is not unlike, in most respects, an original manuscript by Lord Byron, or The Spirit of St. Louis as it is seen in the Smithsonian Institution. (Indeed, museums fill the very same function as the Smithsonian Institution – why else would the Jeu de Paume wing of the Louvre exhibit Cà ©zanne’s and Van Gogh’s palettes as proudly as they do their paintings?) Actual works of art are little more than historical curiosities. As far as art is concerned Van Gogh’s paintings aren’t worth any more than his palette is. They are both â€Å"collectors items.†17 Art â€Å"lives† through influencing other art, not by existing as the physical residue of an artist’s ideas. The reason that different artists from the past are â€Å"brought alive† again is because some aspect of their work becomes â€Å"usable† by living artists. That there is no â€Å"truth† as to what art is seems quite unrealized. What is the function of art, or the nature of art? If we continue our analogy of the forms art takes as being art’s language one can realize then that a work of art is a kind of proposition presented within the context of art as a comment on art. We can then go further and analyze the types of â€Å"propo sitions.† A. J. Ayer’s evaluation of Kant’s distinction between analytic and synthetic is useful to us here: â€Å"A proposition is analytic when its validity depends solely on the definitions of the symbols it contains, and synthetic when its validity is determined by the facts of experience.†18 The analogy I will attempt to make is one between the art condition and the condition of the analytic proposition. In that they don’t appear to be believable as anything else, or be about anything (other than art) the forms of art most clearly finally referable only to art have been forms closest to analytical propositions. Works of art are analytic propositions. That is, if viewed within their context – as art – they provide no information whatsoever about any matter of fact. A work of art is a tautology in that it is a presentation of the artist’s intention, that is, he is saying that that particular work of art is art, which means, is a definition of art. Thus, that it is art is true a priori (which is what Judd means when he states that â€Å"if someone calls it art, it’s art†). Indeed, it is nearly impossible to discuss art in general terms without talking in tautologies – for to attempt to â€Å"grasp† art by any other â€Å"handle† is merely to focus on another aspect or quality of the proposition, which is usually irrelevant to the artwork’s â€Å"art condition.† One begins to realize that art’s â€Å"art condition† is a conceptual state. That the language forms that the artist frames his propositions in are often â€Å"private† codes or languages is an inevitable outcome of art’s freedom from morphological constrictions; and it follows from this that one has to be familiar with contemporary art to appreciate it and understand it. Likewise one understands why the â€Å"man in the street† is intolerant to artistic art and always demands art in a tr aditional â€Å"language.† (And one understands why formalist art sells â€Å"like hot cakes.†) Only in painting and sculpture did the artists all speak the same language. What is called â€Å"Novelty Art† by the formalists is often the attempt to find new languages, although a new language doesn’t necessarily mean the framing of new propositions: e.g., most kinetic and electronic art. Another way of stating, in relation to art, what Ayer asserted about the analytic method in the context of language would be the following: The validity of artistic propositions is not dependent on any empirical, much less any aesthetic, presupposition about the nature of things. For the artist, as an analyst, is not directly concerned with the physical properties of things. He is concerned only with the way (1) in which art is capable of conceptual growth and (2) how his propositions are capable of logically following that growth.19 In other words, the propositions of art are not factual, but linguistic in character – that is, they do not describe the behavior of physical, o r even mental objects; they express definitions of art, or the formal consequences of definitions of art. Accordingly, we can say that art operates on a logic. For we shall see that the characteristic mark of a purely logical inquiry is that it is concerned with the formal consequences of our definitions (of art) and not with questions of empirical fact.20 To repeat, what art has in common with logic and mathematics is that it is a tautology; i.e., the â€Å"art idea† (or â€Å"work†) and art are the same and can be appreciated as art without going outside the context of art for verification. On the other hand, let us consider why art cannot be (or has difficulty when it attempts to be) a synthetic proposition. Or, that is to say, when the truth or falsity of its assertion is verifiable on empirical grounds. Ayer states: . . . The criterion by which we determine the validity of an a priori or analytical proposition is not sufficient to determine the validity of an empirical or synthetic proposition. For it is characteristic of empirical propositions that their validity is not purely formal. To say that a geometrical proposition, or a system of geometrical propositions, is false, is to say that it is self-contradictory. But an empirical proposition, or a system of empirical propositions, may be free from contradiction and still be false. It is said to be false, not because it is formally defective, but because it fails to satisfy some material criterion.21 The unreality of â€Å"realistic† art is due to its framing as an art proposition in synthetic terms: one is always tempted to â€Å"verify† the proposition empirically. Realism’s synthetic state does not bring one to a circular swing back into a dialogue with the larger framework of questions about the nature of art (as does the work of Malevich, Mondrian, Pollock, Reinhardt, early Rauschenberg, Johns, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Andre, Judd, Flavin, LeWitt, Morris, and others), but rather, one is flung out of art’s â€Å"orbit† into the â€Å"infinite space† of the human condition. Pure Expressionism, continuing with Ayer’s terms, could be considered as such: â€Å"A sentence which consisted of demonstrative symbols would not express a genuine proposition. It would be a mere ejaculation, in no way characterizing that to which it was supposed to refer.† Expressionist works are usually such â€Å"ejaculations† presented in the morphological language of traditional art. If Pollock is important it is because he painted on loose canvas horizontally to the floor. What isn’t important is that he later put those drippings over stretchers and hung them parallel to the wall. (In other words what is important in art is what one brings to it, not one’s adoption of what was previously existing.) What is even less important to art is Pollock’s notions of â€Å"self-expression† because those kinds of subjective meanings are useless to anyone other than those involved with him personally. And their â€Å"specific† quality puts them outside of art’s context. â€Å"I do not make art,† Richard Serra says, â€Å"I am engaged in an activity; if someone wants to call it art, that’s his business, but it’s not up to me to decide that. That’s all figured out later.† Serra, then, is very much aware of the implications of his work. If Serra is indeed just â€Å"figuring out what lead does† (gravitationally, molecularly, etc.), why should anyone think of it as art? If he doesn’t take the responsibility of it being art, who can, or should? His work certainly appears to be empirically verifiable: lead can do, and be used for, many physical activities. In itself this does anything but lead us into a dialogue about the nature of art. In a sense then he is a primitive. He has no idea about art. How is it then that we know about â€Å"his activity†? Because he has told us it is art by his actions after â€Å"his activity† has taken place. That is, by the fact that he is with several galleries, puts the physical residue of his activity in museums (and sells them to art collectors – but as we have pointed out, collectors are irrelevant to the â€Å"condition of art† of a work). That he denies his work is art but plays the artist is more than just a paradox. Serra secretly feels that â€Å"arthood† is arrived at empirically. Thus, as Ayer has stated: There are no absolutely certain empirical propositions. It is only tautologies that are certain. Empirical questions are one and all hypotheses, which may be confirmed or discredited in actual sense experience. And the propositions in which we record the observations that verify these hypotheses are themselves hypotheses which are subject to the test of further sense experience. Thus there is no final proposition.22 What one finds all throughout the writings of Ad Reinhardt is this very similar thesis of â€Å"artas-art,† and that â€Å"art is always dead, and a ‘living’ art is a deception.†23 Reinhardt had a very clear idea about the nature of art, and his importance is far from recognized. Because forms of art that can be considered synthetic propositions are verifiable by the world, that is to say, to understand these propositions one must leave the tautological-like framework of art and consider â€Å"outside† information. But to consider it as art it is necessary to ignore this same outside information, because outside information (experiential qualities, to note) has its own intrinsic worth. And to comprehend this worth one does not need a state of â€Å"art condition.† From this it is easy to realize that art’s viability is not connected to the presentation of visual (or other) kinds of experience. That that may have been one of art’s extraneous functions in the preceding centuries is not unlikely. After all, man in even the nineteenth century lived in a fairly standardized visual environment. That is, it was ordinarily predictable as to what he would be coming into contact with day after day. His visual environment in the part of the world in which he lived was fairly consistent. In our time we have an experientially drastically richer environment. One can fly all over the earth in a matter of hours and days, not months. We have the cinema, and color television, as well as the man-made spectacle of the lights of Las Vegas or the skyscrapers of New York City. The whole world is there to be seen, and the whole world can watch man walk on the moon from their living rooms. Certainly art or objects of painting and sculpture cannot be expected to compete experientially with this? The notion of â€Å"use† is relevant to art and its â€Å"language.† Recently the box or cube form has been used a great deal within the context of art. (Take for instance its use by Judd, Morris, LeWitt, Bladen, Smith, Bell, and McCracken – not even mentioning the quantity of boxes and cubes that came after.) The difference between all the various uses of the box or cube form is directly related to the differences in the intentions of the artists. Further, as is particularly seen in Judd’s work, the use of the box or cube form illustrates very well our earlier claim that an object is only art when placed in the context of art. A few examples will point this out. One could say that if one of Judd’s box forms was seen filled with debris, seen placed in an industrial setting, or even merely seen sitting on a street corner, it would not be identified with art. It follows then that understanding and consideration of it as an artwork is necessary a priori to viewing it in order to â€Å"see† it as a work of art. Advance information about the concept of art and about an artist’s concepts is necessary to the appreciation and understanding of contemporary art. Any and all of the physical attributes (qualities) of contemporary works, if considered separately and/or specifically, are irrelevant to the art concept. The art concept (as Judd said, though he didn’t mean it this way) must be considered in its whole. To consider a concept’s parts is invariably to consider aspects that are irrelevant to its art condition – or like reading parts of a definition. It comes as no surprise that the art with the least fixed morphology is the example from which we decipher the nature of the general term â€Å"art.† For where there is a context existing separately of its morphology and consisting of its function one is more likely to find results less conforming and predictable. It is in modern art’s possession of a â€Å"language† with the shortest history that the plausibility of the abandonment of that â€Å"language† becomes most possible. It is understandable then that the art that came out of Western painting and sculpture is the most energetic, questioning (of its nature), and the least assuming of all the general â€Å"art† concerns. In the final analysis, however, all of the arts have but (in Wittgenstein’s terms) a â€Å"family† resemblance. Yet the various qualities relatable to an â€Å"art condition† possessed by poetry, the novel, the cinema, the theatre, and various forms of mus ic, etc., is that aspect of them most reliable to the function of art as asserted here. Is not the decline of poetry relatable to the implied metaphysics from poetry’s use of â€Å"common† language as an art language?24 In New York the last decadent stages of poetry can be seen in the move by â€Å"Concrete† poets recently toward the use of actual objects and theatre.25 Can it be that they feel the unreality of their art form? We see now that the axioms of a geometry are simply definitions, and that the theorems of a geometry are simply the logical consequences of these definitions. A geometry is not in itself about physical space; in itself it cannot be said to be â€Å"about† anything. But we can use a geometry to reason about physical space. That is to say, once we have given the axioms a physical interpretation, we can proceed to apply the theorems to the objects which satisfy the axioms. Whether a geometry can be applied to the actual physical world or not, is an empirical question which falls outside the scope of geometry itself. There is no sense, therefore, in asking which of the various geometries known to us are false and which are true. Insofar as they are all free from contradiction, they are all true. The proposition which states that a certain application of a geometry is possible is not itself a proposition of that geometry. All that the geometry itself tells us is that if anything can be brought under the definitions, it will also satisfy the theorems. It is therefore a purely logical system, and its propositions are purely analytic propositions. –A. J. Ayer26 Here then I propose rests the viability of art. In an age when traditional philosophy is unreal because of its assumptions, art’s ability to exist will depend not only on its not performing a service – as entertainment, visual (or other) experience, or decoration – which is something easily replaced by kitsch culture, and technology, but, rather, it will remain viable by not assuming a philosophical stance; for in art’s unique character is the capacity to remain aloof from philosophical judgments. It is in this context that art shares similarities with logic, mathematics, and, as well, science. But whereas the other endeavors are useful, art is not. Art indeed exists for its own sake. In this period of man, after philosophy and religion, art may possibly be one endeavor that fulfills what another age might have called â€Å"man’s spiritual needs.† Or, another way of putting it might be that art deals analogously with the state of things â€Å"beyond physics† where philosophy had to make assertions. And art’s strength is that even the preceding sentence is an assertion, and cannot be verified by art. Art’s only claim is for art. Art is the definition of art. NOTES * Reprinted from Studio International (October, 1969). 1 Morton White, The Age of Analysis (New York: Mentor Books), p. 14. 2 Ibid., p. 15. 3 I mean by this Existentialism and Phenomenology. Even Merleau-Ponty, with his middle-of-the-road position between empiricism and rationalism, cannot express his philosophy without the use of words (thus using concepts); and following this, how can one discuss experience without sharp distinctions between ourselves and the world? 4 Sir James Jeans, Physics and Philosophy (Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press), p. 17. 5 Ibid., p. 190. 6 Ibid., p. 190. 7 The task such philosophy has taken upon itself is the only â€Å"function† it could perform without making philosophic assertions. 8 This is dealt with in the following section. 9 I would like to make it clear, however, that I intend to speak for no one else. I arrived at these conclusions alone, and indeed, it is from this thinking that my art since 1966 (if not before) evo lved. Only recently did I realize after meeting Terry Atkinson that he and Michael Baldwin share similar, though certainly not identical, opinions to mine. 10 Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language. 11 The conceptual level of the work of Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Morris Louis, Ron Davis, Anthony Caro, John Hoyland, Dan Christensen, et al., is so dismally low, that any that is there is supplied by the critics promoting it. This is seen later. 12 Michael Fried’s reasons for using Greenberg’s rationale reflect his background (and most of the other formalist critics) as a â€Å"scholar,† but more of it is due to his desire, I suspect, to bring his scholarly studies into the modern world. One can easily sympathize with his desire to connect, say, Tiepolo with Jules Olitski. One should never forget, however, that a historian loves history more than anything, even art. 13 Lucy Lippard uses this quotation in a footnote to Ad Reinhardt’s retrospective catalogue, January, 1967, p. 28. 14 Lucy Lippard, â€Å"Constellation by Harsh Daylight: The Whitney Annual,† Hudson Review, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring, 1968). 15 Arthur R. Rose, â€Å"Four Interviews,† Arts Magazine (February, 1969). 16 As Terry Atkinson pointed out in his introduction to Art-Language (Vol. 1, No. 1), the Cubists never questioned if art had morphological characteristics, but which ones in painting were acceptable. 17 When someone â€Å"buys† a Flavin he isn’t buying a light show, for if he was he could just go to a hardware store and get the goods for considerably less. He isn’t â€Å"buying† anything. He is subsidizing Flavin’s activity as an artist. 18 A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic (New York: Dover Publications), p. 78. 19 Ibid., p. 57. 20 Ibid., p. 57. 21 Ibid., p.90. 22 Ibid., p. 94. 23 Ad Reinhardt’s retrospective catalogue (Jewish Museum, January, 1967) written by Lucy Lippard, p. 12. 24 It is poetry’s use of common language to attempt to say the unsayable that is problematic, not any inherent problem in the use of language within the context of art. 25 Ironically, many of them call themselves â€Å"Conceptual Poets.† Much of this work is very similar to Walter de Maria’s work and this is not coincidental; de Maria’s work functions as a kind of â€Å"object† poetry, and his intentions are very poetic: he really wants his work to change men’s lives. 26 Op. cit., p. 82.

Impact of Remuneration to Motivate Employees

Impact of Remuneration to Motivate Employees This dissertation is based on a concept of human resource management, which is an important aspect for the success of the firm. The research topic of this dissertation is Investigate the impact of Remuneration to motivate employees in the Fast Food Industry: A Case Study of McDonalds. Remuneration is one of the main tools to appraise the performances of the employees, which ultimately motivates them to work with zeal and enthusiasm. This topic is mainly focused that managers uses remuneration as a tool of motivation. Case study of McDonalds will help to evaluate the importance of remuneration as an important tool for managers to motivate employees. Introduction Remuneration is directly or indirectly one of the mainsprings of the motivation in the society. A well defined compensation system leads to motivate the employees, which further leads to increase productivity (Chi and Han 2008). This research study mainly focuses on the relationship between remuneration and motivation. Yermack (2004) has asserted in his study that all the business organizations act like a profit maximization institution, so they put their efforts to improve performance of its employees by motivating them. This motivation ultimately helps the organizations to increase productivity level. Work motivation is interrelated with job satisfaction. Money often is looked upon as a means of fulfilling the most basic needs of man. These needs are made available through the purchasing power provided by monetary income: remuneration and salary of individual (Stajkovic and Luthans 2003). According to different motivation theories, such as Maslows Need Hierarchy, Two factor theory given by Herzbergs, McGregors theory X and theory Y, Achievement Theory, Taylors Motivational Theory, etc. Money is one of the main sources to persuade the behaviour of an individual towards his organization and work productivity (Wheeler 2008). Thus, it is necessary for the corporate executives or managers to be aware with the economical and social background of employees to offer good remunerations as per their talent and skills and motivate them to work. The general meaning of remuneration is the basic salary or pay of an employee, but in the broader sense, remuneration comprises salary, fringe benefits, compensation, bonus, commissions, employee stock op tion, etc. (Guedri and Hollandts 2008). In the current business scenario, managing and motivating human resources has become a complicated task. In this highly changing and competitive environment, remuneration is one of the main tools for the manager to improve the productivity of the employees, to attract competent personnel, to retain present employees, to reduce the rate of absents and employee turnover, to manage job sequences, to strengthen union management relationships, to improve public image of the company, etc. (Perry, Mesch and Paarlberg 2006). This research study would target the remuneration procedure in fast food industry of the United States of America, by using McDonalds, worlds number one fast food restaurant. Presently, the structure of fast food industry has become complicated and its success is mainly dependent upon the qualified and talented employees, who are able to understand the changing needs and requirements of the customers. Competitive pressure and environmental changes has increased the importance of motivational practices for managers to boost the performance of the employees. This dissertation will focus on the issue that how managers of McDonalds use remuneration practices to motivate the employees and creating competitive advantages in the industry. Additionally, this dissertation will also discuss the interrelationship between remuneration and motivation with the help of different motivation theories. Research Aims and Objectives During this research work, the researcher would examine the need and importance of motivation tools for the managers and how remuneration would help the managers to motivate employees in McDonalds. The main objectives, which are coming out of this research, are as follow: ? The foremost objective of this dissertation is to identify the impact of remuneration practices on the performance of the employees in the fast food industry. ? Second objective of this research study is to identify the relationship between remuneration and motivation, on the basis of different motivational theories. ? Next objective is to understand the remuneration practices and procedures used by managers in McDonalds to motivate the employees. ? Another objective of this research dissertation is to compare performances of employees in McDonalds with its rival companies to identify the importance of and advantages remuneration to motivate the employees. ? Additionally, suggesting different strategies and practices to compensate employees as per remuneration act is also one of the main objectives of this study. Background Information McDonalds is one of the biggest fast food family restaurants, which operates in more than 120 countries and serve more than 47 million customers in a day (McDonalds: About Company, 2010). It doles out some of the favourite foods all around the world like World Famous French Fries, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin. Success of the firm is highly dependent upon its HRM practices and efforts put by its managers and employees. All the HR policies of the companies are defined very clearly for the benefit of all stakeholders. The main aim of the HRM department of the company is to offer best services to the customers by ensuring that the company has skilled, motivated and committed employees. Remuneration practices used by the firm are also very good and effective and based on various motivational theories. Remuneration is not a new concept for the business organizations. In the corporate world, all the members from owner to lower level employees work for money. Not only in MNCs but also in small shops, everybody wants high remuneration and financial incentives to fulfil their basic needs, thus, it is necessary to work hard to improve the productivity of the employees and earn more money (Yermack 2004). Corporate world has become competitive, in this concern, top executive and managers uses management practices and motivational theories to enhance the skills and productivity of the employees and earn high money. Thus, fair remuneration practise are used by the managers. This creates a feeling of satisfaction among employees to fulfil their needs (Chi and Han 2008). According to the assumptions of motivation, compensation and incentive is direct tool to motivate employees. Managers in McDonalds have taken a complete overview of this concept and motivate employees by offering good remuneration and performance incentives. Presently, companies are following the system of paying for performance. Qualification and experience are also important but work performance enables employees to get good remuneration (Perry, Mesch and Paarlberg 2006). For example, if a marketing manager is highly qualified but he is not able to conduct a market research effectively and his working output is very low, company would not give a high remuneration and other financial incentives to him. On the other hand, if a sales executive has average qualification and he serve more number of customers by showing his abilities and maintaining good relations with them; he would be definitely promoted by the company and would get monetary rewards also (Wheeler 2008). Thus, it is very clear that money matters for all the employees, whether they are at high position or belongs to middle and lower levels. Remuneration requires by all the employees to fulfil their basic needs and non-monetary and monetary rewards and compensation are also given by the firm to develop job satisfaction and control the rate of employee turnover (Guedri and Hollandts 2008). Thus, this research study would focus on McDonalds, which has effective HR and compensation policies to pay its employees and motivate them to put their best efforts to achieve the goals and objectives of the firm. Literature Review Motivation is a process to push employees towards some work in order to satisfy a need. Most of people work to reach some specified goals. It is the reason that motivation is goal-directed drive that causes to person to act. Mathis and Jackson (2008) defined that need, desire; want and drive all are similar to motivation. They described that understanding of motivation is important for organizations as reaction to compensation. Compensation and motivation are directly proportional to each other (Ajila and Abiola 2004). Performance of employees, rate of absenteeism and turnover are affected by motivation and remuneration and also influenced to motivation. Managers can use different motivational tools to motivate their employees and remuneration is one of main tools among all of them. Remuneration can be defined as the monetary motivation tool that influences the behaviour of employees towards work (Armstrong, Murlis and Group 2007). In the words of Perry, Mesch and Paarlberg (2006) each employee should receive a general compensation for their efforts, role and responsibilities followed by him in the company. Before deciding a form and amount of remuneration, several considerations are there such as general economic climate, specific business condition, cost-of living and worker qualification and productivity that a firm must consider (Carraher 2011). Different authors described about the relationship between remuneration and motivation. In order to support this relationship, Mathis and Jackson (2008) stated that remuneration is different from motivation and it is related with Herzbergs hygiene factors. Remuneration includes several th ings such as bonuses, commission, salary, fringe benefits such as pensions, holiday entitlement. The study of Chapman and Kelliher (2011) represent that employees motivation does not only come from decision mix (amount of pay) of an organization policy but also it comes from the understanding of individuals. The remuneration of an employee depends on several factors such as basic needs, psychological needs, social needs, performance of individual, productivity, profitability return, etc. (Khan, Farooq and Ullahb 2010). In favour of this, Kmiotek and Lewicka (2008) stated that effective motivation does not only involves proper implementation of remuneration policy but also involves some other motivators such as organization of work, HR development and training, performance management tools, performance appraisal, etc. According to the HR experts, creation of effective reward system is necessary to motivate employees but there is a need of good and enthusiastic managers, who can drive people towards good performance. In order to create an effective motivation process, it is necessary that there should be an appropriate remuneration policy for employees (Kubr 2002). According to Ajila and Abiola (2004) there are two types of rewards such as intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic rewards are related with the rewards that are natural with job. This reward is achieved by individuals when they successfully achieve their own objectives. On the other hand, extrinsic rewards are outside the job such as working condition, security, promotion, working environment and service contact. Presently, in order to motivate employees, both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards should be a part of remuneration policy. It is also well discussed that individuals effectively work to the extent for the job, which provides them remuneration if they are intrinsically motivated. In contrast to this, if people are extrinsically motivated, they effectively work to the extent by which they can attain external rewards from the job (Chapman and Kelliher 2011). Thus, it can be concluded that if the remuneration is intrinsic to the job, desire for motivation is also intrinsic or if the remuneration is extrinsic to the job, desire for motivation is also extrinsic to the job (Ajila and Abiola 2004). Perry, Mesch and Paarlberg (2006) stated in their research study that in this new government era, in order to increase the performance and productivity of the employees, managers should adopt good remuneration policies. This will ultimately help the business organizations to offer quality services and products to the customers (Maxwell 2008). It is the reason that most of employers now use remuneration policies to attract, motivate, retain and satisfy employees. It is founded through different research that performance-based remuneration motivates employees to work hard (Ajila and Abiola 2004). The study of Khan, Farooq and Ullahb (2010) support the arguments of Ajila and Abiola (2004) and said that in an effective rewards system, there are several factors that influences the performance of employees such as basic remuneration, bonus, incentives, fringe benefits, monetary and non monetary rewards, commission, etc. All these factors are good sources to boost the performance of the employees. Carraher (2011) defined that remuneration helps in developing strong relationship between employers and employees. It is founded by researchers that employees motivate through different monetary remuneration and an effective remuneration helps in reducing absenteeism, turnover intentions, provides organizational attractiveness to different job seekers and also helps in increasing employees job performance (Kmiotek and Lewicka 2008). It has been stated by Guedri and Hollandts (2008) in their study that managers in different organizations consider remuneration as a major factor that helps in increasing productivity of employees. Remuneration is an important tool that focuses on motivating employees performance and behaviour. The study of Employee retention and organizational performance (2011) also support the views of Carraher (2011) and asserted, it is necessary that there must be appropriate rewards in order to satisfy and motivate employees. In contrast to both Carraher (2011) and Employee retention and organizational performance (2011), Mathis and Jackson (2008) said that other factors such as job itself, participation, appropriate feedbacks, morale and discipline are more important than remuneration that impact on remuneration. According to Blythe (2005), in the present competitive environment, job satisfaction is more important than money, thus, manager should concentrate on all non-monetary factors, promotions, health insurance, rewards systems, etc. Zyl (2010) has stated in his research study that there is a positive relation between labour productivity and employee remuneration, which is also supported by Carraher (2011). It is the reason that greater the employee remuneration, higher the level of labour productivity. Several reasons support this fact such as if an organization adopts more differentiate remuneration, it will enhance the human efforts and a higher remuneration structure also enhances the productivity of employees (Montana and Charnov 2008). At the same time Zyl (2010) also assesrted that if gaps between employee remuneration is regularly increase, it would ultimately increases gap and convert positive relations between employees performance and remuneration into negative. There are several reasons such as if it is filled by employees that their real remuneration is less than the fair remuneration, it can cause for negative relationship. Kubr (2002) Stated that an effective remuneration system does not only enhance the performance of people, who are already working well but also it is used to enhances the performance of people who are not performing well. Remuneration play an important role in motivating employees but different employees motivate through different factors. An effective remuneration package includes several elements. These elements are as below: First, element is salary that includes different things such as pay, commission, profit related pay and share dividends. Second element is related with different facilities such as insurance, healthcare schemes and pension. Other elements are availability of discounts on companies product and service for employees and subsidiary for meals and accommodation (Kubr 2002). Salais and Villeneuve (2004) support, Kubr (2002) and said that remuneration is a better tool to motivate employees for better performance. There are three basic remuneration components such as bonuses, basic pay and profit-sharing schemes that influence the performance of employees. Armstrong, Murlis and Group (2007) described about the effectiveness of remuneration as a mean of motivation such as: ? In order to motivate employees through remuneration, it is necessary that remuneration should be equitable and externally competitive. ? Contribution systems and pay for performance system are created on the basis and understanding that directs that motivation is only takes place when the rewards are worthwhile. ? Each employee understands about the workings of financial reward system and about the benefits that is provided by it. They also know about the skills and competences of remuneration system (Murlis and Hay Group 2007). In the fast food industry, remuneration is an important part that managers use to motivate employees and enhance their productivity level. In contrast to this statement Schlosser (2001) defined that if there are lack of secure employment and good wages in fast food organization, managers use team spirit in order to motivate employees by saying that, if one employee is arriving late and do not work hard, it also affects the performance of their friends as well as their co-workers. It also helps in motivating employees, so that they can improve their performance. It has been also defined that employees work only to increase their profits and this is the reason that if organizations provide more remuneration to the employees, it helps in generating more output (Wales and Reaich 2004). Development of an employee is directly proportional to the development of the organization. If the remuneration is directly related with work performance, employee will work hard. It is the reason that most of managers use remuneration to motivate employees. Managers clearly stated in their organizations policies that if employees work hard they can earn higher profits and it is the reason that employees are motivated through this policy. Good return and high profit will allow the organizations to hare the profit with employees, thus they should work hard to get good remuneration (Yermack 2004). Zyl (2010) has been also found in their research that if employees are motivated through remuneration, there are two positive effects of this such as it helps in reducing the labour turnover from organizations and it also helps in enhancing the more salary and good working environment. Thus, it is fact that it helps in generating a productive team of efficient and talented people for the enterprise (Wales and Reaich 2004). According to them remuneration as a managerial tool to motivate employees is important for several reasons. These reasons are as below: ? Remuneration is a tool to impartial measurement of different employees. It is because if employees get more facility instead of money, it does not motivate employees to work harder. ? With the increment in salary, employees can maintain their honour, prestige and ensure economic security (Wales and Reaich 2004). ? They also argued that remuneration is a more efficient motivating factor as it can easily increase or decrease according to the proportion of work. ? Remuneration also helps in increasing the self-confidence of employees that further helps in improving the standard of living (Wales and Reaich 2004). Thus, finally it has been concluded in many research studies that remuneration is an important tool that several managers use to increase the performance of their employees. Justification of the Study This research study has its own significance to understand importance of remuneration for the business firms to improve the performances of employees and for the individuals to fulfil their desires. Although this research topic is related with the HRM but it has a broad significance in the society. Remuneration means salary and pay that is paid by employers to its employees. Money is the foremost sources for the well living of individuals, which help them to fulfil their basic needs. Presently, innovations and changes in the economical, social and technological environment have enhanced the living standard of individuals (Mathis and Jackson 2008). Money allows them to enjoy a lavish life and raise their social standard, thus, this research topic is very much beneficial for the managers to understand that how remuneration practices enables them to motivate employees to work with zeal and enthusiasm. The main reason behind selecting the fast food industry and McDonalds is the popularity. Growth and success of fast food industry attract individuals to earn good remuneration. McDonalds provide good remuneration to its employees, who develop high level of job satisfaction among the employees; thus, this example would provide valid and true information. Although job satisfaction and enrichment is also important for the development of the employees, but money has also its own importance. This research study would be beneficial for all kinds of firms such as international, MNCs, small and medium size firms, to improve the productivity of the employees. Managers would also able to understand the significance of remuneration tool to boost the morale of employees and motivate them to achieve the goals on time. Research methodology Research methodology can be discussed as a systematic process, which assists researchers to collect, organize, record, and evaluate the data and information to resolve the problem and draw a valid and reliable conclusion (Bordens 2006). Selection of research methodology is a significant task for the researcher. In order to select suitable methodology, firstly, researcher would use appropriate approach. Research Approach: There are mainly two kinds of research approaches inductive and deductive. Inductive Research Approach: In this kind of research, theories are developed according to the situation or problem (Crowther and Lancaster 2008). All these theories enable the researcher to explain data and information. This is very flexible in nature and based on bottom up approach. In this kind of approach, researcher evaluates a main concept and generalizes this view as per the research problem. It is related to the interpretivism point of view (Gill and Johnson 2002). On the other hand, this kind of research approach also involves some extent of uncertainty. Deductive Research Approach: Deductive research approach is mainly based on the positivism paradigm. In this kind of approach, research develops theories and hypothesis and tests these theories with the help of empirical observations. This approach is top to bottom approach in which researcher evaluates general views to reach at specific situation (Hyde 2000). The suitable research approach for this study would be inductive because this research focuses on the specific areas of human resource management, which are remuneration and employees motivation. Both of these concepts have their own significance in the success of a company as well as individuals. Thus, this research approach is more appropriate to explore the effectiveness of remuneration to motivate the employees and improve their productivity (Burke 2007). Deductive research approach would not be used because HRM has not given any kind of theory to defined remuneration. Basically, this is a pay given by companies to the employees for their job performance that can be used to develop a hypothesis for the research study. Appropriate Research Methodology: There are numerous research methodologies such as theoretical, applied, analytical, descriptive and empirical. Selection of research methodology would be based on the nature of research problem. In order to select the appropriate research method, it is essential to understand the nature of the research problem. The suitable research methodology for this research topic would be descriptive and applied research methodology. The main reason behind choosing this methodology is its advantage of identifying population characteristics (number of employees to collect primary data) in McDonalds to understand the impotence of remuneration to motivate employees and develop feeling of job satisfaction among them. It is a flexible methodology in which researcher uses several variables and lot of information to solve the problem or to achieve research objectives. It has flexible nature, which comprises both qualitative and quantitative research process (Cooper and Schindler 2007). We are not using other research methodologies because they are not appropriate for this study. In theoretical research, there is lack of experimental analysis and in analytical research there is a restriction of theoretical background (Goddard and Melville 2004). On the other hand, empirical research methodology is highly based on observation and field data rather than theoretical. Thus all these methodologies are not well appropriate for this study. In descriptive and applied research methodologies, the research got a chance to use both concepts and observational method. Both of these methods are also beneficial to manage cost and time (Marczyk, DeMatteo and Festinger 2005). Data Collection Method to collect Primary and Secondary Data: After deciding research approaches and methodologies, appropriate data collection method would also be selected. In order to investigate impact of remuneration and different motivational tools on the performance of employees in McDonalds, we would focus on two different types of methods. Primary research and secondary research are two different types. In order to complete this research study, the propose research types are primary as well as secondary. Primary research type comprises observations, survey and interviews through questionnaires, whereas secondary research methods comprises evaluation of reliable academic articles and published studies that are previously done by other researchers (Scruggs and Mastropieri 2006). Questionnaire can be defined as a set of some important questions that are related to the research problem. In order to collect primary data, a set of questionnaire would be used to conduct a survey process. Some well defined questions would be e-mailed to the participants in the form of questionnaire, so that it will be easy for the researcher to get back the responses of participants and carry out the research study in a systematic way. This is a suitable way to collect important qualitative data, which comprises low cost and also free from discrimination (Stead 2001). On the other hand, this research methodology has also some restrictions such as dully filled questionnaires, lack of reliability on data, low rate of return, etc. This kind of research strategy can be used only in the situation when the participants are well educated and collaborates (Bordens 2006). In case of this research study, the research would target the employees of McDonalds, who are well qualified and experienced to understand the importance of research topic for their personal, social and organizational welfare. In order to minimize the chances of discrimination, an observation methodology would also used. The information gathered by researcher at his personal level would be observed through graphical and tabular presentation to manage the thematic analysis (Crowther and Lancaster 2008). In order to collect secondary data and information variety of academic journal would be analyzed after assessing their credibility. Most of the portion of this research study would be based on the secondary data. Primary data would be used for a limited extent because it is really difficult to select appropriate participants and contact with all the participants for their valid and reliable response. By using secondary data and information, it would be easy for the researcher to enhance the credibility of the research (Cooper and Schindler 2007). Apart from research articles, companies report, different case studies would also be used. The researcher philosophy for this study would interpretive, which provide subjective reasoning according to the secondary data and real life examples (Scruggs and Mastropieri 2006). Justification of Research Methodology Both primary and secondary research methods are used to collect data, which are questionnaire, observation and review of academic journals. All these methodologies would be beneficial for this study to find the real facts and figures. According to the inductive research approach and descriptive and applied research methodologies, these are absolutely suitable strategies for this dissertation. The main aim of the researcher is to understand the impact of remuneration and motivational practices on employee performances by minimizing the errors, thus all these strategies would be beneficial to reach at the valid conclusion (Silverman 2004). Survey through questionnaire and observation method has many advantages and it is very much useful for the researcher to understand the real life situations to achieve the objectives of this research study. Survey through questionnaire is a very efficient technique to collect data and information from a large number of populations. In this research study, researcher has selected a small sample size, which gives an idea to him for the large population, thus both survey and observation methodology would be appropriate (Marczyk, DeMatteo and Festinger 2005). It is valid and reliable research methodology, through which research can study beliefs, attitude and behavior of employees and managers due to different remuneration packages. In questionnaire and observation method, extent of subjectivity and discrimination is limited. On the other hand, secondary research method enables researcher to evaluate the subjectivity of the research topic. Ethical Consideration In order to conduct any research study, it is necessary for the researcher to concentrate on the research ethics and integrity. Without ethics and integrity, research study has no value. This research study would also be conducted on ground of ethical boundaries, which ultimately help the researcher to achieve consistent and dependable result. Following ethics in research also shows the concern and responsibility of the researcher towards society and corporate environment (Resnik n.d.). The researcher would develop a code of ethics with the help of corporate lawyer. The researcher would establish ethical guidelines according to the law and regulations. Conducting an unethical research will ultimately lead confusions for the society and readers, which would waste the effort and hard work of the researcher (Ethics in Research 2010). The code of ethics would lead surety about the safety and security of data and information. The researcher would ensure the participants that he would not disclose their personal and professionals information. Researcher, his team and all the participants would follow integrity, honesty and dependability to conclude and authentic result. The researcher will record all the information to in hard copies and soft copies to by accessing passwords and security codes (Resnik n.d.). Researcher would follow non-discrimination practices to collect and evaluate primary and secondary data. Possible information sources In order to collect secondary data to accomplish the research and achieve the objectives, different sources would be used by the researcher. These sourc