Groups and Teams Paper

Groups and Teams Britny McCoubrey MGT/311 January 16, 2013 Marcia Smart, Ph. D. Groups and Teams Cooperation has been an essential tool for humanity throughout its history; people have used teamwork for hunting, gathering, farming, and protection as well as for community and social fulfillment. As industry and technology have reshaped and extended the dynamics and demographics of trade, traditional proprietorships have readily given way to partnerships, in turn gave way to corporations.Within these businesses, cooperation serves again as a driving force toward a common goal—often on a huge scale that operates on the work of smaller groups and teams. This paper will examine different kinds of working groups (supplemented where possible by examples from an organization for which the author has worked), and the importance of the fundamental differences between working groups and teams. It will also address the five stages of team-building, how conflict (a much-maligned term), act ually assists this process, and personal experiences of the author with this process.Different Groups Within an organization, different kinds of groups cooperate on different levels for different reasons. Robbins and Judge (2011) identify six types of groups: formal, informal, command, task, interest and friendship. Organizational structure determines formal groups, which work together to achieve organizational goals (p. 276). All of the associates working in a single Walmart store comprise a formal group. An informal group does not rely on the organization for structure, assembly or goals and gathers instead to satisfy social needs of the people comprising it (p. 76). The Walmart associates chatting at the break-room table constitute such a group—they may not be friends outside of work or even know each other, but they assemble to eat together and banter about their professional or personal exploits. Four subgroups exist within these groups: formal subgroups include command and task, while informal subgroups include interest and friendship (p. 276). Formally classified command groups report to one manager; at Walmart, a single Customer Service Manager supervises and assists up to 16 cashiers in a command group.In a task group, members don’t necessarily report to one manager, but rather transcend different managers, groups, and departments to accomplish a specific task within the organization. When a man ran out of Walmart with a stolen backpack full of other stolen sporting goods equipment, several managers from several departments chased him out the door and tackled him on the concrete in the parking lot. Those managers then had to cooperate with the Loss Prevention associate, the Sporting Goods bullpen associate, and even the police in order to handle the situation and move forward with prosecution.In many cases of crime or other special circumstances, associates of different areas have to come together to complete tasks that affect all of the m (and often the store). While all command groups are task groups in some way, task groups are more transcendental and therefore not always command groups (p. 277). Informal interest groups include people gathering for common interests, whether that common interest is quilting caps and blankets for the March of Dimes effort or lobbying for or against organizational or managerial actions or policies (p. 77). Friendship groups, on the other hand, gather for a sense of community; this often transcends the professional sphere and carries into the personal sphere, with people meeting outside of work and building personal relationships with coworkers. Groups vs. Teams While the terms ‘group’ and ‘team’ seem to be used interchangeably, fundamental divergences separate them. According to Robbins and Judge (2011), work groups take on the responsibilities of formal groups as defined earlier.They mainly work together to make decisions that help them fulfill their resp onsibilities and meet broad organizational goals, which thye do on an individual basis and without need or practical ability to utilize teamwork or collective effort. Work teams, on the other hand, functions on collaboration and synergy, powered by the efforts of several people working together to accomplish shared goals. While a group of cashiers will process transactions as fast as they can to control front-end congestion, the accounting team that handles the cash works together as a real team to andle their tasks, which include getting change for cashiers, taking in cash drops when tills close, and auditing those till drops. They work together in one little room, working out certain decisions and coordination on their own for their own specific goals. While groups work together individually, teams work together collectively, even though all work in the company of one another. Teams are often more valuable than mere groups because management can harness that synergy and collectivi ty, and use it to increase performance. The Five Stages of Team-BuildingRobbins and Judge (2011) identify the five stages of team-building as forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (p. 279). Forming sees the team take shape amid structural, leadership, and purpose-oriented ambiguity. Much like a pack of creatures establishing dominance, the team members will push limits and test boundaries until they find what works and begin feeling like a team. This can happen when an associate is newly hired and must establish his place among his peers. Specifically, when Walmart remodeled Garden Center, people from different departments and ranks were pulled together to work on it.This was an awkward time at first, because no one really knew who of the many evenly-ranked employees was ‘in charge’. Storming actually needs conflict to iron out these details and determine who will lead the team, and to allow team members to come to terms with team-related constraints. T he associates argued for a few days on whose breaks and lunches took priority, as the remodel occurred on a single shift each day and lunches were difficult to coordinate without some having to wait longer than others to go.Finally, two leaders took charge and managed the schedules moreeffectively. More about team conflict management will arise later. Norming sees the team cohering and ‘settling’ into their roles and codes of conduct. Certain Walmart associates involved with the remodel had different skills and backgrounds, so as Goodwill (2011) suggests, leaders assigned associates to different duties, and once these and systems of evaluating success were established, teamwork became easier and tasks more defined.Performing is like fourth gear for the team; it is rolling and fully functional, firing on all cylinders and turning out real achievement. In the remodel, Walmart associates dug in and did what they knew they had to. This is the final stage in permanent groups , but in temporary groups assigned for a specific task within a timeframe, adjourning sees the team tie up loose ends, add finishing touches, and finally disband. The remodel team was likewise disbanded after shelves were replaced and reassembled so that actual Garden Associates could arrange and stock them.Those associates went back to their normal duties. Regarding these stages, Weinclaw (2010) makes an excellent point when she advises that these stages are not necessarily linear, and can repeat or occur at different stages or even in cycles. Just because a team has moved past one conflict, for example, or established leadership, this does not mean new conflict or leadership will not arise, and the team may have to go back through certain stages if this occurs.Conflict Management in Teams As mentioned previously, conflict actually helps to shape teams. However, this does not mean that all conflict at any level is conducive to efficient performance by a team. According to Robbins a nd Judge (2011), a certain amount of conflict can allow teams to strengthen rapport, engage creativity and remain dynamic, whereas the total absence of conflict can stagnate a team and render it static, which can cost the team drive.Conflict management sounds like a strategy for removing conflict, but Robbins and Judge (2011) define this phrase as using both resolution and stimulation techniques to achieve as optimal level of conflict, which implies that conflict may need to be stimulated occasionally as well as resolved. Sykes (2010) addresses ways that conflict can arise, including cultural differences (as a result of globalization, for example) and clashing communication styles.She emphasizes the importance of identifying the cause and creating a solution. In her opinion, a major element in managing conflict is to prevent it as much as possible (although she asserts that conflict management is not about absolute elimination, which would be impossible). Of course, a major aid in m anaging conflict on individual and group levels is to incorporate conflict management training into the workplace, so that employees are prepared to respond appropriately and effectively to conflict should it arise.At Walmart associates are trained, for example, on how to use the chain of command to report conflicts, and how to use the open door policy to get around additional or command chain-related conflict as well. Understanding conflict as a potentially positive influence on a team and knowing beforehand how to respond effectively to it so that it can have that positive influence can decrease drain on teamwork from conflicts not only by preventing them when possible, but by reducing the time and stress that they siphon from real tasks. ConclusionTeamwork, according to Goodwill (2011) remains a major theme in modern business, and understanding the complex processes of developing teams and managing conflict to keep a team dynamic and performing satisfactorily allows for an apprec iation of all that really goes into keeping those teams running smoothly. In a business world that increasingly thrives on teamwork and the output of its synergy, would-be employees and leaders alike need to embrace this form of collaboration. Teamwork has, after all, gotten humanity this far—surely it will carry it much further as time goes on.References: Goodwill, M. (2011, February 10). How to succeed at team-building. People Management, 30. Robbins, S. P. , & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational behavior (14th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ:Pearson/Prentice Hall. Sikes, B. , Gulbro, R. , & Shoesy, L. (2010). Conflict in work teams: Problems and solutions. Allied Academies International Conference: Proceedings of the Academy of Organizational Culture, Communications & Conflict (AOCCC), 15(1), 15-19. Wienclaw, R. A. (2010). Teams & team building. Teams & Team Building – Research Starters Business, 1-6.CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I  certify that  the attached  pape r is my original work. I am familiar with, and acknowledge my responsibilities which are part of, the University of Phoenix Student Code of Academic Integrity. I affirm that any section of the paper which has been submitted previously is attributed and cited as such, and that this paper has not been submitted by anyone else. I have identified the sources of all information whether quoted verbatim or paraphrased, all images, and all quotations with citations and reference listings.Along with citations and reference listings, I have used quotation marks to identify quotations of fewer than 40 words and have used block indentation for quotations of 40 or more words. Nothing in this assignment violates copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property laws. I further agree that my name typed  on the line below is intended to have, and shall have, the same validity as my handwritten signature. Student's  signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature): Britny McCoubrey

Engagement Letter Essay

The memo verifies the agreement of the purpose of the engagement and the quality and constraints of the services the firm offers. Talbot Auditing Firm will review the financial statements of Apollo Shoes at the end of the year. Talbot auditing firm will review the accounts such as the operations records, retained earnings, and cash flow accounts. An audit’s goal is to form an opinion about the fairness of the accounting records in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The audit will be performed according to auditing standards generally accepted in the United States. The firm will perform tests of the accounting records and other procedures essential in stating an opinion. If the opinion is not unqualified, the firm will give reasons. If the firm cannot complete the audit, they might not give out a report on the engagement. The firm will test the existence of inventory, and confirm receivables and payables and other assets and liabilities by letters to a few customers, creditors, and financial institutions. The auditor will ask for a letter of representation from the company’s attorney. The attorney might bill Apollo Shoes for replying to the query. When the firm concludes the audit, the firm may ask for written statements about the financial statements and other issues. The auditor will carry out the audit to know if the records are free of material misstatement. The auditor’s intention is to give reasonable, not absolute assurance. The auditor will not provide a thorough assessment of each transaction so a risk of material errors, fraud, and illegal acts might exist and go unnoticed by the auditor. The firm may terminate the services for nonpayment and consider the engagement completed upon a written request of termination even though the auditor fails to complete a report. Apollo Shoes will pay for extended time and out-of-pocket cost through date of termination. If you agree to the above conditions of this engagement, sign the letter at the bottom. Please return the signed letter and keep a copy for company records. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions.

Nursing Clinical Negligence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nursing Clinical Negligence - Assignment Example The issues which are required to be considered in the risk assessment process are the activities in the context of physical and emotional environment and organisational culture. Moreover, considering the potential number of patients who are likely to be affected, and potential consequences of the hazards are few of the major considerations of a clinical risk assessment process (Logan & Johnstone, 2012). During the process of risk assessment, the implementation of a set of effective and simple steps can be practiced by the nursing staff. The steps associated with an effective risk assessment process have been provided hereunder. The study provided rich understanding regarding the risk assessment process in clinical practice. It has been learnt that the steps associated with risk assessment is a set of simple technique that enables the healthcare institutions to avert different types of clinical risks or hazards. In nursing practices clinical negligence is often reported which has a severe impact on the well-being of patients. Correspondingly, the understanding derived from the study regarding the effectiveness of the risk assessment process and associated steps can be applied to reduce any instances of clinical negligence. Allnutt, S. H. & et. al., 2010. Clinical Risk Assessment & Management: A Practical Manual for Mental Health Clinicians. Justice Health. [Online] Available at: http://www.justicehealth.nsw.gov.au/publications/handbook-february-2011.pdf [Accessed November 09, 2014]. Boland, B., 2010. Clinical Risk Assessment and Management for Individual Service Users: Policy and Procedures. NHS Foundation Trust. [Online] Available at: http://www.hpft.nhs.uk/_uploads/documents/the-trust/freedom-of-info/disclosure/clinical-risk-assessment-and-management.pdf [Accessed November 09, 2014]. Department of Health, 2007. Best Practice in Managing Risk. National Mental Health Risk Management Programme. [Online] Available at:

CIS256 Final Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CIS256 Final Project - Essay Example First, you need to verify if the problem is caused by the network or corruption of the AD (Rommel, 2008). It is followed performing a recovery for the directory restore thus choosing either authoritative or none. Testing then covers replication and proper functionality of domain controller. There is the development of a lag site for replication in case there is a deletion of objects in large numbers. The aim is to keep a backup of the active directory especially at location 2. You then engage the authoritative restore. Location three will involve creating a print queue to server printers that are standalone. The list generated by the Administrator should direct the users to a print queue on the network that will allow the job to pass through even when the printer is not support by the user’s workstation. Location four will establish a redundancy for the AD to carry forth replication despite the failure of domain controllers. The step is to allow for the most minimal downtime period or none especially when relating to the failure of the software or hardware in use. The administrator also uses the group policy to address alterations to passwords, security and the respective policy as well as settings for configuration when it is critical. Other recovery and continuity plans involve having redundancies for every role in at least one other location to cater for damages caused by natural disasters. Having multiple tapes and performing network diagnostics after a short interval of time guarantees easy detection of a

POETIC FORMS AND GENRES Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

POETIC FORMS AND GENRES - Assignment Example nd for some historians and literature critics it has also a very strong negative connotation related to the period immediately after the World War I and the disappointment in the moral and ideological values that have been the basis of the Victorian Age during the rule of Queen Victoria. Historical events during the Victorian Age such as the adoption of the Reform Bill (1832), Chartism (1836-1848) and many others speak for the period itself and we should not waste time on history anyway. Literature in this period is the object of our interest. Needless to say, literature has been strongly influenced by all of those events and the bourgeois lifestyle and society in general. Among all literature genres poetry has been regarded the highest if we are to judge according to the respect it has enjoyed. Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) is considered â€Å"national treasure† for the British. His best works include â€Å"Poems by Two Brothers† (1827), â€Å"Poems Chiefly Lyrical† (1830), â€Å"Poems† (1832), â€Å"Poems† (1842), â€Å"In Memoriam† (1850), â€Å"Maud† (1855), â€Å"Idylls of the King† (1859), â€Å"Enoch Arden, and Other Poems† (1864), â€Å"Works† (so-called ‘Imperial Edition’ 1872), several plays (â€Å"Queen Mary†, â€Å"Harold† â€Å"The Falcon† and others), etc. â€Å"Ulysses† (1842) is one of his best poems. It is a pure monologue in blank verse, more compact in its composition than the rest of his poems, using strong, core and â€Å"sober† language, whose richness is beyond any critic. To clarify the meaning of monologue as a poetic form we have to give its definition and say that it is a speech in verse or prose uttered by one speaker as a part of a larger work or as an independent work in itself, and blank verse means unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter often used in long poems and dramatic verse, with a very flexible form and well adaptable to monologues like â€Å"Ulysses† (Myers, Jack, & Simms, Michael, â€Å"The Longman Dictionary of Poetic Terms†, 1989, p.33).

Thomson One - Business School Edition - Walt Disney Prospectus Essay - 1

Thomson One - Business School Edition - Walt Disney Prospectus - Essay Example This is a type of debt whereby the investors are paid an interest rate for their money. This debt is different from others in that its interest rate resets after every four months. A company that offers this kind of debt has the right to sell bonds whose benchmark is different from those that are linked to the United States of America. Companies embrace this type of debt since they are able to hedge against risks related to interest rates and at the same time remain in corporates. Its main aim was to attract long term investors into buying the stocks. The company targeted both the existing as well as new investors. The fact that the debentures were offered as floating debt was one major factor that increased their marketability. The interest rates were to be offered in quarterly basis and this served to attract many people to buy the bonds. In addition, the bonds’ interests could be reviewed after every four months, a factor that could also increase its marketability. They wer e to be sold on the basis of shareholding. Those who already have shares at the company would fill an enrolment form to get the bonds at a minimum lower amount. Those who do not hold shares were also given a chance to buy the bonds but their minimum amount was set at a higher than the existing shareholders. 2) List the dollar amount of debt Disney proposed to sell to the public. Indicate whether this amount has increased or decreased from 2008 to 2010. Discuss some potential causes of this increase or decrease. At the time when Disney proposed to sell its debentures to the public, the amount to be sold was stated to be $1 billion (High Beam Business, 2013). The bonds were to be issued in the denominations of $2, 000. For the excess of $2, 000, there was to be issues of integral multiples of $1, 000. It is important to note that the proceeds that the company was to receive equalled $989, 760, 000 with the rest being commission to agents which was stated at the rate of 0.35% (High Bea m Business, 2013). Between the years 2008 and 2010, the amount in dollars increased. There are a number of reasons that could have led to this increase. One of them is the fact that the company needed more money as the expansion plan changed as the business environment changed. In addition, the company’s profitability may have reduced due to the global economic crisis that hit most countries. This reduced the amount of profit that the company could have re-invested and hence it had to borrow more. 3) Determine the percentage of the sales price Disney nets after discounts and commissions. Indicate whether this amount as decreased or increased from 2008 to 2010. Discuss some potential causes of this increase or decrease For every sale of shares or any kind of securities including bonds and debentures, the company usually does not sell them directly. The securities are normally sold through a broker or an agent who has to be paid a commission. In addition, the company may opt to sell its securities at a discount or at a premium. Discounts are expenses to be charged on revenue while premium is recorded as an income. In the case of Walt Disney, the bonds were not sold at a discount. However, there was a commission fee that was pain to the agents who were selling the bonds on behalf of the company. As it has been mentioned earlier, the discounts/ commissions

Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communications - Essay Example However, from a communication perspective managing a virtual team can pose problems in maintaining rapport among members, bridging cultural gaps, and orchestrating for them to do their designated tasks at specified dates. As opposed to members who meet face to face, virtual teams have yet to build a strong relationship through virtual interactions in order to maintain the efficiency and accuracy of the work which the company wants each member to undertake. The initial meeting of the virtual team should be designed in order to overcome the distrust and anxiety that the members feel toward each other. Thus, in order to facilitate this meeting, it is recommended that teleconferencing be used in order to develop a warm and more social atmosphere. This get-to-know-each-other stage should not be a venue to tackle serious and formal matters but should be designed in order for team members to feel at ease with the prospect of working together in the future. Thus, teleconferencing will allow each other to talk and view each other while the first meeting is conducted. The first meeting should be facilitated by someone from the headquarters of SWC. At first, there should be an ice breaker by allowing members to introduce themselves and communicate casually with each others. The latter portion will be more serious by as it will be on the establishment of the team's goal and clarification of the roles and responsibilities of each team member. Before this discussion, an overview of how things work in the company should be presented in order for members to know how their different tasks can contribute to the overall process taken to attain corporate goals. Special discussions should also be conducted to tackle the following questions within the group: agreement on team ground rules, turnaround time of emails, calls, etc; information sharing; giving and receiving feedback; using media effectively; conflict management; and stakeholder satisfaction (Jude et al 2000). The facilitator should give each member pitch in his or her ideas in these situations in order to avoid further conflict in the future. Key Interactions Key interactions in the company will be facilitated through different communication channels. Conference calls should be used in order to conduct the needed trainings. As each member will be closely working hand in hand, training them together through conference calls will be beneficial in further defining their tasks and specific responsibilities. The use of email will be to facilitate sending large files and documents to the members as well as different questions and clarification on everyday communication. Emails will therefore be the primary means of communication. NetMeeting will also be used in order to facilitate the periodic meeting of each team member. Aside from these work related communications, SWC should also look into conducting team building strategies in order to solidify team relationship. If possible, it can set up a face-to-face meeting with its team members in an annual basis in order for them to further get acquainted with each other as well as instill

Investigation of the different Power Plant operating in the UK and the Dissertation

Investigation of the different Power Plant operating in the UK and the alternative ways of generating power - Dissertation Example Though the infrastructure for tidal power needs major capital investments, once built, they need very little additional expenses. They will supply electricity for at least three future generations without any fuel being consumed, since the tidal energy comes from the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon. While fossil-fuel plants fill the atmosphere with the greenhouse gas carbon-di-oxide and nuclear power plants produce radioactive waste carrying risk of contamination, tidal power plants are free from greenhouse emissions and are non-polluting. The UK has abundant tidal resources ranging from the Severn Estuary to Solway Firth and Mersey estuaries totaling 42 sites. According to NATTA,The tidal barrage potential of UK is around 20% of its total energy requirements while another 19% of the total energy requirements can be supplied by tidal current power plants. A single barrage at Severn Estuary would provide 6% of UK power needs by generating 8000MW of electricity out of the 30 00GW of tidal power that can be extracted globally. As per another source, at least 5% of UK electricity needs can be supplied from tidal range sources and another 5% power can be obtained from tidal stream technologies to total 10% of its energy requirements from tidal resources. ... Tidal energy technology will help the UK government to achieve its twin energy policy objectives of tackling climate change by reducing carbon-di-oxide emissions and ensuring secure, clean and affordable energy while the country gets increasingly dependent on imported fuels(SDC,2007,p28). By displacing output from fossil-fuelled power plants, the electricity from tidal energy will make a significant contribution to the UK governments energy targets. The variability from tidal energy can be accommodated by upgrading the grid network. In addition, the tidal barrage can protect the estuary from flood risks by providing significant level of coastal protection to low-lying areas.(SDC,2007,p8). Moreover, a barrage can offer leisure and tourism opportunities in a wide variety of activities such as angling, bird-watching and surfing.The Severn Barrage would help to create a number of jobs especially in the construction stages and also cause substantial development of the region and its peopl e by increasing the real estate values and enhancing commercial and residential development .In fact in UK, electricity from the tidal power is the best option for the future to ensure that power generated from renewable energy sources can deliver a 60% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with the proposed Severn Barrage, if constructed and commissioned, constituting 5% contribution to freeing the electric supply from carbon-di-oxide producing technologies. REFERENCE NATTA(n.d,) Renewable Energy in the UK Available at

Paleontogly Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Paleontogly - Research Paper Example The contemporary representation of this sexual dimorphism is that it is a â€Å"single, unidimensional phenomenon that is displayed to greater (e.g. gorillas, orangutans) or lesser (e.g. humans) degrees in the different primate species† (Oxnard, 1987, 2). Furthermore, it is commonly believed to be mainly related to variations in general size of the body between sexes (Levinton, 2001). The implication for evolutionary theory is, that human sexual dimorphism in the past must have been significantly greater than it is in the present day, possibly more like that in the living primates (Oxnard, 1987). Understanding the human ancestry is regarded as one of the challenges in exploring human evolution. Nonetheless, several fossil hunters appear to believe that this implies that their mission is to find the pieces of the exact human antecedent in the field (Elewa, 2004). Similarly, several laboratory examiners appear to believe that this implies that their mission is proving that a certain fossil relic is that ancestor (Serafini, 1993). Exploring human evolution, even in the mind of the public, appears to be this issue of moving from ‘missing’ to ‘found’ links (Oxnard, 1987, 2). The challenge appears to be the unearthing of ancestors. But what is the certainty of this undertaking? Even from a population as large and concentrated as that of any major metropolitan area, and over as many as hundreds of generations, the statistical changes of any particular individual ever becoming fossilized and found by a paleontologist millions of years later must be almost infinitesimal. How much less must be the chances of finding representatives of populations of perhaps only a few thousand, scattered over an area of the world as large as Africa or Asia, during periods of time measured in hundreds of thousands, even millions of years (Oxnard, 1987, 3). Once humans are thousand years ahead of a death, possibly tens of thousands of

Management 4900 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management 4900 - Essay Example It should state the result, its significance and any other conclusion(s), which may be relevant. Introduction: A novel mouse mutant and the corresponding protein, mKIAA058 (in the following ‘KIAA’), was identified and further analysed. In order to understand the functions of this gene/protein, a mouse strain containing a non-functional allele (mKiAA058-; Null-allele) was successfully established. First data indicated an autosomal recessive inheritance as heterozygous (KIAA+/-) as well as homozygous knockout (KIAA-/-) animals were identified. The deficiency of this protein (‘Knockout KIAA’) affects multiple tissues, including skeletal defects (delayed/reduced development of bone and cartilage; growth retardation) as well as a progressive form of vascular degeneration. Later, a corresponding disease in humans was found in a small number of very young patients. The prospects of the patients are not clear at the time and the analysis of the mouse model may provide some hints for the severity of the disease. The analyses of the molecular mechanisms underlyi ng the disease are still ongoing and some problems and experiments linked to these studies are given in the following. Statistical tests may be used to answer some of the questions. In order to define potential effects of the presence/absence of the KIAA protein on the inheritance patterns, a number of breedings were performed. The genotypes of the parents were known and the genotypes of the litters (age: 14-16 days) were analysed by allele-specific PCR reactions. In three parallel experiments (1.1, 1.2, 1.3), crossings of 5 wildtype males (KIAA+/+) with 10 heterozygous females (KIAA+/-) were started and all litters (given as total number of mice) were genotyped and the numbers of all possible genotypes are given in the following Table 1. All tested mice appear normal and show no altered phenotype at the tested age (day 14-16). In three parallel

Critical response to Z for Zachariah by Robert C. OBrien Essay Example for Free

Critical response to Z for Zachariah by Robert C. OBrien Essay The book I read is Z for Zachariah by Robert C. OBrien. I enjoyed this book because it contained few but excellent characters and is full of mystery and suspense. Z for Zachariah is about a sixteen-year-old girl, called Ann Burden who thinks she is the only person to survive a nuclear war. However, as her diary entries progress, you learn of a person in a green suit who is pulling what looks like a trailer covered with the same green material as the suit approaching Ann Burdens valley. Later in the diary you find out that the person is a man who had been an industrial chemist before the war, working for the Government designing a suit to protect people in the event of a nuclear explosion. His name is Mr Loomis and he is wearing the only one of these suits. When Mr Loomis finally arrives in the valley, he is amazed by the fact that there is water, which appears to be safe but Mr Loomis makes one severe mistake. When he checks the water for the level of radiation with his Geiger counter he in fact checks the clean water in the stream but then goes on to venture further down the valley, where he finds Ann Burdens home where the polluted Burden Creek is nearby. Once Mr Loomis has seen inside Anns house (where Ann has cleverly hidden any clues that could show the visitor that there has been people living there recently) he then proceeds towards Burden Creek in the hope of getting his first bath in probably months. However, not realising that the stream and Creek are not connected and in fact the Creek runs into the valley from over the hill where the pollution is, he jumps right in. Within a very short period of time after Mr Loomis has had his bath he became very ill, as he had been exposed to a lot of radiation. When Mr Loomis becomes sick Ann then realises she will have to help him and that is when she first shows herself. Anns diary entries take you through the events that happen when she is and is not in the company of Mr Loomis. My favourite part of the book is the first three diary entries. In these diary entries Mr Loomis has not yet arrived in the valley however Ann has seen smoke from over the hill for three days, which she presumes is from a human made fire because it is in a thin column that it rises. The smoke comes at the same time everyday, in late afternoon. Each afternoon the smoke is nearer to Anns home. I like this part of the book the most because in it you find out what it has been like for Ann being alone for so long because her family left her to look for other people and had never returned. It is interesting to read Anns thoughts of being excited and scared that she may in fact not be the only person left in the world. It is obvious why Ann would be excited about someone else coming into the valley but maybe not so clear why she would be scared. Ann is scared because after the nuclear explosion some radio stations had still broadcasted, but towards the end of them broadcasting the presenters seemed to be going crazy. Here is a quote from the second diary entry which will explain why Ann is scared Suppose a car came over the hill, and I ran out, and whoever was in it got out suppose he was crazy? Or suppose it was someone mean, or cruel, and brutal? A murderer? What could I do? After this quote, you realise that Ann is a very sensible and careful person because she decides to move her things to a cave nearby her home and make it look as though no one has lived in her house. That way she can watch whoever is coming into her valley and if they are crazy or mean she can stay in the cave unbeknown to the visitor and wait until they leave. At the end of the third diary entry Ann has still not seen anyone but knows that they are camping at the crossroads and exploring North, South, East, West and when they come into the South they will find Anns valley. The most remarkable character in the book I think is Ann Burden. She is careful, mature, kind, helpful, sensible, confused, and strategic/logical. In the following paragraph I will explain why Ann Burden is all of the things I have just said: The reason I think Ann is careful is because when Mr Loomis is first entering the valley she goes to the cave to live there as she does not know if Mr Loomis is safe. During the book Z for Zachariah you realise that in fact even though Ann is only sixteen she is more mature than Mr Loomis who is quite a bit older than Ann. The proof that shows this, is all of the words I am using to describe her and she also thinks about having children to begin the human-race again. The words kind, helpful and sensible describe Ann well because when Mr Loomis is ill with radiation poisoning she helps him and is kind to him even though hes a stranger. Also Ann still helps Mr Loomis after he tried to rape her she gives him half of everything i.e. eggs, milk and chicken and lets him have the comforts of her home while she moves into the cave. It is obvious that Ann is confused, as she does not know why Mr Loomis is being so horrible to her especially when she has done everything she can to be nice to him and to help him. The last words to describe Ann are strategic and logical; I think these words describe Ann well because when she does not want Mr Loomis to find her she thinks about what he can and cannot see e.g. when she builds a fire she thinks about where and how to build it so Mr Loomis cant see it she also thinks about what time of the day to light it. The style of Z for Zachariah is in diary form. Throughout the book there were not many figures of speech, however, there were a few similes, here is a quote from the book that describes Anns dog Faro when he has returned from the dead lands where there is radiation, in it there is a simile as thin as a skeleton. The structure of Z for Zachariah is in chronological order, each event happening in an order that makes sense and makes the story more intense and interesting. During the book, there is not much direct speech as the genre of the book is in diary form so it contains more of the thoughts and feelings of Ann Burden. The themes in the book are effects of modern technology, survival, dominance, bullying, age against youth, optimism/realism, breeding, art v science and religion v atheism. In the following sentences, I will discuss the themes that occur in Z for Zachariah. The first theme effects of modern technology is the theme that allowed the story to occur because nothing in the book would have happened had there not been a nuclear explosion. The themes of survival, dominance and age against youth are all linked together and are in a way very similar to each other. These three themes are perhaps the strongest and most occurring ones throughout the book, I will explain why: survival of course is going to be a major issue, Ann is the one who thinks about this the most having thought of growing her own crops, so when the supplies run out in the shop she will still have food to survive, and that is just one example. Throughout the book Mr Loomis tries to be the stereotypical Alpha male, he wants everything to be done his own way and to be done by him. For example when Ann said she would go into the town with the safe suit to collect books, even though Mr Loomis is still ill he refuses to let her go, perhaps thinking she is incapable or he could have been worried she wouldnt come back with the safe suit, although I think the first scenario is more likely. The only time Mr Loomis seemed to let Ann do things her way is when he could not do things for himself, however, he never admitted it. Age against youth is another strong theme as throughout the book you realise that Mr Loomis even though he is older he is not always wiser and more mature, in fact Ann is definitely the more mature of the two characters. Optimism and realism are two words that can explain Ann and Mr Loomis completely different personalities. Ann being the optimist who thinks that the results of an action will always be good and Mr Loomis being the realist he makes decisions based on facts and not on false hope. Throughout the book breeding is a theme, but more with Ann she thinks towards the future and beginning the human-race again. The theme of art v science is one that occurs throughout the book. As Ann is interested in art and Mr Loomis is interested in science, a few quarrels occur between them. However, quarrels is perhaps the wrong word because Mr Loomis always seemed to get his own way. Again, I will use the example of when Ann wanted to use the safe suit to collect some engineering and physics books for Mr Loomis; she also suggested that she get some for herself. Such as poetry. Yet Mr Loomis refused and said, You could not go. Understand that. Keep away from the suit. Never touch it. After Mr Loomis had given Ann his lecture, she could not understand why he had become so angry. It was alright if he wanted something but as soon as Ann wanted something to do with her interests, it was too much of a risk. Religion v atheism is a theme in the book. Ann being the religious one and Mr Loomis the atheist. I dont think Ann is strongly religious, I just think she finds going to the church and praying a comforting factor. Earlier I said Mr Loomis is an atheist. This means that he doesnt believe that any god or gods exist, therefore he does not understand why Ann would want to go to the church and waste her time praying. I enjoyed this book because there were few characters, which allowed you to get to know them better. I also liked the style of the book being in diary form because you didnt have to read the minute by minute accounts of what is happening in the book you only get to read the exciting and more intense parts which would be written in a diary. The thing that made the book a little boring was the fact that there werent many different figures of speech. The length I though was too long, some parts of the book seemed to be dragged out to give it a longer length, for example when Mr Loomis is sick the book got a little boring because in the diary entries you really were only told what Ann had did that day, there wasnt enough character interaction. One thing that I thought ruined the book was the ending, I thought it was exciting when you were told that there was hope that there could be other people still living and you wanted to keep reading and know if there was anyone else out there, but it just stopped. Taking the entire book into account my opinion is that it is quite good as I think it gives a good insight into what could happen if there is a nuclear explosion it is realistic.

Subcultural Theories And Critiques

Subcultural Theories And Critiques Introduction In this assignment, I have been asked to evaluate the main points of subcultural theories and critiques of them. In order to answer this question put to me, I will go on to describing exactly what a subculture is, I will then go on to state the different theorists who have given theories as to what subculture is, why it happens and how they may evaluate and apprehend it, showing their opinions throughout. I will then evaluate each theory and show the strengths and weaknesses of each, and throughout my evaluation I will be using plenty of references throughout to back up any points made, and finally go on to a concluding summary. Firstly we must state what exactly culture is before we can delve in to any explanations of what exactly a subculture is. Williams suggests that there are many ways in which culture has been described and defined throughout history although the best way to define culture is that of ‘particular way of life which expressed certain meanings and values not only in art and learning, but also in institutions and ordinary behaviour (Williams 1961:pg 57). There can be said to be many different ways in which a selection of society can be seen as a subculture, the first is that of reactive subcultures in which people feel a direct oppression from mainstream society and react against all that is seen as the typical ‘norm. There are also independent subcultures which are said to have complete separate, and that of their own, norms, values and beliefs than that of mainstream society.ÂÂ   Brake also suggests that the best way to define a subculture is to suggest that it is like a ‘culture inside of a culture'(Brake 1985). Further into his book he then goes on to suggest that ‘Subcultures exist where there is some form of organised and recognised constellation of values, behaviour and actions which responded to as differing from the prevailing set of norms. (Brake 1985:pg 8). In some circumstances the norms and values we share in day to day life with all of society are followed but not in the same way by all, therefore creating these subcultures. From the day we are born, we are already surrounded by a subculture lead by class and the particular ways of life in which a working class family may have may be in complete comparison to that of an upper class family. We are all brought up with complete different values of life and some people may see it more as tradition within their family, which is to be followed religiously. One example of this can be seen with the subculture of gypsies, where it is tradition to get married mainly by the age of 16, they live in caravans, statics, shallays and it is tradition for gypsies to attend the Appleby fair every year and even though this is not seen as the norms and values of everyone, it is to them. You could say that there are so many subcultures out there that it is impossible to state every one. An example of this could be that of what type of person you see yourself as and you religiously wear certain clothes to ‘fit in with a particular group i.e. Chavs, Hippys, Goths, Emos, Punks, Geeks, Popular, Tom Boys etc the list goes on. Another way in which people could suggest to support different values are that of homosexuality and the religions which oppose it as a sin of God. Longhurst et al argues that subcultures also arose from hegemony and quotes Clarke et als statement that ‘hegemony refers to the moment when a ruling class is able, not only to coerce a subordinate class to conform to its interests, but to exert a hegemony or total social authority over subordinate classes. (Longhurst et al 2008:pg244). As this was due to the fact that after the second world war a lot of reconstruction of the country as well as the economy was going on and the government, who mainly consist of white middle and upper class men, where changing the ways in which the working class lived their live s, and they took into account Cohens view that labour was being polarised and this meant that the wealthy were getting ‘specialised, high tech, well paid jobs and the poor were being forced to stay poor as they were only able to secure themselves ‘dead-end, unskilled labour. (Longhurst et al 2008:pg 243). These quotes show and tell us that the wealthy could see their jobs as a job and a career, however the poorer people could only see themselves as labourers, which in some cases me be used as a more generous term for skivvy, lackey, slave etc where they earn less money for doing a ‘hard days graft as you will, but yet the highly paid jobs are more than likely to be quite an easy job to do. Society in those days needed hard workers to do the labour jobs as those were the areas which needed upkeep however the areas the wealthy seemed to have jobs in would more than likely have no effect on society if it were to keep going or stop all together and therefore many are m eaningless jobs but they are getting more money to do them. This is the kind of subjects in which set off the rebellions and therefore there was the creations of these subcultures in other areas than just class, but against governmental choices and the decisions they may have made which had an adverse affect on one class as it did on another, causing further friction between classes and we still see this going on today. One of the main theorists to evaluate subculture was that of Albert Cohen and he mainly shows his theory of the subculture functionalist through his book called Delinquent Boys : The culture of the gang. In this book, his main points are that it is the clashing between that of the middle class and the ‘delinquents which was a harsh term produced by middle classes to describe the poor in order to portray them as being non educated with no intelligence and no drive to have goals in their lives. His view was linked to that of Mertons Strain Theory and Cohen, as well as Merton, argue that everyone has the same goals in life however the working classes never get the opourtunity to actually go forward and achieve these goals. However where the two theorists differ, is how this revulsion of middle class culture leads to crime and law breaking behaviour. Merton has the view that because the working class do not get the chance to succeed in life, this then leads most down the path of cr ime and this is the main result of no success, suggesting that they have no choice in the matter, and that in order to survive they must turn to crim. Cohen on the other hand suggests that because the working class cannot have success in reaching goals in life, this then leads them to make up their own goals which involve crime and aggressive, law breaking behaviour (Cohen 1955 cite). Suggesting that they choose to break the law and commit crime and they see this as a way of life, and see nothing wrong with this. This subculture is reflected by Cohen to be the delinquent subculture with their own norms and values and their goals being to commit crime and it is seen as a positive thing to do, as if they reach their targets and goals by committing crime.ÂÂ   The main goal for this subculture which Cohen suggests is to gain that of status by any means necessary, whether that be good or bad publicity and they dont care which way they are portrayed by the media and other sources, as long as they are publicised and he suggests that these peoples key features are ‘malice, ‘negativisticbehaviourand ‘non-utilitarian behaviour (Cohen 1955 cite). ‘Malicious behaviours are committed out of spite.bullying of non delinquents.Negativistic by believing that their behaviour is right precisely because it is wrong according to the norms of society.Non-utilitarian as their activities do not produce a direct economic benefit. (Regoli et al 2009:pg192).He also suggests that they have traits such as being very ‘versatile, ‘hedonists andÂÂ   having great ‘group loyalty and autonomy never betraying one of the groups rules. ‘Versitility is shown in their tendancy to dabble in many delinquent activities stealing, vandalism, trespassing, truancy and so on.Hedonism as delinquents are often impatient and impulsiveout for fun and dont take kindly to rules, scheduals or organization, nor do they plan ahead, study or practice. Future gains and goals are of no importance to them.Group autonomy as they are close to other members of gang but hostile to outsiders. (Regoli et al 2009:pg192-193). This delinquent subculture was also separated not only from middle class society through social exclusion from the norm, but they were separated by sex as Cohen states in his book that ‘male delinquency is at least four times as common as female delinquency. (Cohen 1955:pg45). He also suggests that even though there is this subculture group which is apparent in order to try to gain a voice within the middle class society and to stand up for what they believe in and their rights as an English Citizen, there still never seems to be no resolution and that this battle will go on forever more ‘some groups, which may sometimes be counted excessive, sub-cultural solutions may not emerge, or particular individuals may not participate in them, Nonetheless, the problems of adjustment may be sufficiently intense and persistent that they still press for some kind of change. (Cohen 1955:pg 71).

Analysis of Cement Industry in India

Analysis of Cement Industry in India INTRODUCTION People invest in stocks to make their money grow. And to help investors identify the suitable and the appropriate way to invest, there are various modes of analysis. A number of approaches have been developed over time. One most important analytical approach among them is EIC analysis (E for economy, I for industry and C for company). EIC analysis is also sometimes referred to as Fundamental Analysis or the Top Down approach to Fundamental analysis. . In this approach, the investment decisions are taken on the basis of the strength of the economy, industry and company. The major objective of undergoing a project on EIC analysis or top down approach to fundamental analysis is to answer the question as What to buy. At economy level, fundamental analysis will focus on the economic indicators of the country to assess the present and future growth of the economy. Major economic indicators include the GDP growth rate, inflation, imports, exports, monetary and fiscal policies, foreign exchange reserves, IIP, etc. The basic assumption is that if the economy grows, companies would do well. At the industry level, apart from economy other factors like government attitude, entry barriers, competition level, threat of potential entrants, substitute products, cost structure, foreign entrants, also affect the way an industry evolves in time and hence affects the stock prices of companies in that particular industry. This industry analysis will also include Porters five force model (wherever applicable) which will give a better approach to it. The next task to be done in the project is to identify and analyze two companies i.e. ACC and Ultratech cement Ltd. For that a number of factors will be taken into consideration, say, the companys SWOT analysis and the financials of the company. Thus, on the foundation of some major factors, this EIC analysis will analyze the overall economy, industry and company which will give a clear picture and practical approach of stock identification. The second part of the project is Technical analysis which is a method of evaluating securities by analyzing the statistics generated by market activity, such as past prices and volume. Technical analysis looks at the price movement of a security and uses this data to predict its future price movements. Thus a technical analyst approaches a security from the charts. 2. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS EIC analysis is not just about balance-sheets or analysis of a companys financial performance. It is also crucial to look at the broader picture- the macro-economic factors that may directly or indirectly affect the economy, industry and stocks of the company. Economic Analysis is the First Step in a three step security analysis process. An economic slowdown has implications for the earnings and margins of companies. At economy level, fundamental analysis will focus on the economic indicators of the country to assess the present and future growth of the economy. It aims at analyzing the overall Economy and identifying the general direction, in which the economy is heading. Although there are many macroeconomic indicators that are relevant to markets, given below are some must-track-indicators GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate is the most important macroeconomic indicator of a nations economic health. If the GDP is growing, so will economy, businesses, jobs and personal income. If GDP is slowing down, then businesses will hold off investing in new investments and hiring new employees, waiting to see if the economy will improve. If the GDP growth rate actually turns negative, then it means the economy is in a recession. Thus, on the basis of the GDP data, we can analyze the economy and interpret the future of Indias economy up to some extent. Given below is the data of real GDP growth rate from the year 2006 till the year 2010. In the year 2008, Indias GDP growing at 7.9%, was the lowest in three years and was indicative of slowdown in Indian economy. Recorded for the months of April-June 2008, Indias economic growth rate was 7.9% which was less than what it was at the same time last year. The economy had expanded by 7.6 per cent in the July to September quarter of 2008. Indias economic growth slowed to just 5.3 per cent in the last three months of 2008, its slowest pace of expansion in the last six years, as the global financial crisis took its toll on local manufacturers and farm output fell. The International Monetary Fund has forecast Indias economy to grow at 6.75 percent in 2009-10 and 8 percent in 2011-12 on the back of an expected pick-up in private consumption and investment. Indian economy grew 8.6 percent from January to March of 2010, keeping in line with governmental projections. During the quarter, mining and quarrying, manufacturing and trade, hotel, transport and communication saw year-on-year growth of 14 percent, 16.3 percent and 12.4 percent. The country strives to attain 8.5 percent growth of GDP in fiscal year 2010-2011 with the aim of realizing 9 percent growth in the following year. INFLATION Inflation is no stranger to the Indian economy. It is an increase in the price of a basket of goods and services that is representative of the economy as a whole. Inflation is an upward movement in the average level of prices. Because inflation is a rise in the general level of prices, it is intrinsically linked to money. It denotes too much money chasing too few goods. High rates of inflation can have critical effects on economy. It is characterized by depreciation in the value of money. Economists attribute a number of factors to inflation that can be broadly categorized under supply side factors like increased production costs and demand side factors like excessive demand created by tax cuts, cheaper borrowings etc. High rates of inflation can have serious consequences for the economy in general. Therefore, for governments all over the world, reducing movements of prices to a minimum is seen as a primary economic objective. The above effects can be exemplified by taking the current scenario of the Indian economy. Annual Inflation in India in May 2008 was 7.4% which was the highest since November 2004. As a result Industrial production growth declined to 8.6 % in February 2008 as compared to 11 % in February 2007. Thus, high inflationary rate is harmful because the value of the money falls, cost of living rises, reduces the value of savings, discourages future investment and savings and slows down the overall growth of the economy. The Indias economic story can be traced by seeing the general trend of inflation rate in the year 2008. In the Year 2008, RBI had revised its key rates several times to maintain the liquidity in the banking system. The lower interest rates will allow the banks to cut their benchmark lending rates, though the deposits will also see the reduction in interest rates. Lower commodity prices and crude oil prices is driving the Inflation on a downside. This will be wonderful as the lower inflation means, lower cost of credit, which drives the economy on the upside. For 2009, Indian inflation stood at 11.49% Y-o-Y. On March 19, 2010, the Reserve Bank of India raised its benchmark reverse repurchase rate to 3.5% percent, after this rate touched record lows of 3.25%. The repurchase rate was raised to 5% from 4.75% as well, in an attempt to curb Indian inflation. The inflation rate in India was 13.73 percent in June of 2010. This is because of the prices of pulses were up by 34.40 per cent from a year ago, milk by 21.12 per cent, fruits by 13.67 per cent, cereals by 5.41 per cent, rice by 6.76 per cent and wheat by 3.97 per cent. On 19th august, cheaper vegetables pull down inflation to 10.35%. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE India has been facing huge problem of unemployment and underemployment from years. Unemployment is much higher in urban areas than in rural areas and too women face the unemployment more. Various problems like enormous increase in the population, age, vocational unfitness and physical disabilities, technological and economic factors have caused this problem. Other problems also contribute towards unemployment. Several socio-economic problems like poverty, malnutrition, antisocial and criminal activities, drug and substance abuse, etc. are the result of ill effects of unemployment. Underemployment, Disguised unemployment, regional imbalances in the unemployment scenario in India are another important factor. The decline in job creation in agriculture has been identified as one of the important reasons behind the increasing unemployment in India. But players like TCS, BSNL WIPRO have announced their plan to hire more and more people in 2010. IMPORTS Indias merchandise imports witnessed a growth of 44.9 per cent during April-September 2008, and thereafter it showed a deceleration, reflecting the slowdown in industrial activities due to global economic crisis. The overall imports during April 2008-January 2009 at US$ 241.5 billion, recorded a lower growth of 24.4 per cent than 30.9 per cent recorded a year ago. POL imports during April 2008-January 2009 at US$ 82.1 billion, however, maintained broadly a similar growth of 30.6 per cent (31.9 per cent a year ago) reflecting the high pace of crude oil prices. Imports during January 2009 at US$ 18.5 billion also declined by 18.2 per cent for the first time during the current year 2008-09 so far, as against an increase of 64.0 per cent in January 2008, mainly due to sharp decline in oil imports. The overall imports during April 2008-January 2009 at US$ 241.5 billion, showed a growth of 24.4 per cent lower than that registered during the comparable period of previous year (31.0 per cent ) on account of deceleration in both oil and non-oil imports. Indias imports during March, 2010 were valued at US $ 27733 million (Rs.126175  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  crore) representing a growth of   67.1 per cent in dollar terms (48.4   per cent in Rupee terms)   over the level of imports valued at US $ 16597 million ( Rs. 85022 crore) in March, 2009. Oil imports during March, 2010 were valued at US $ 7730 million which was 85.2   per cent higher than oil imports valued at US $   4175 million in the corresponding period last year.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Non-oil imports during March, 2010 were estimated at US $ 20003 million which was 61.0 per cent higher than non-oil imports of US $ 12422 million in March, 2009. EXPORTS Indias merchandise exports, after recording a steady growth of 35.3 per cent during April-August 2008, declined in all the subsequent months so far, during the current year, viz., (-12.1 per cent in October), (-9.9 per cent in November), (-1.1 per cent in December) and (-15.9 per cent in January 2009) on account of global financial turmoil and economic slowdown. With the result, the overall exports during April 2008-January 2009 at US$143 billion increased by 12.4 per cent as compared with 24.1 per cent during the corresponding period of the previous year. Exports of labor intensive sectors such as, textiles, gems and jewelers, agricultural and allied products, ores and minerals, leather products have registered decelerated growth as these sectors have been adversely affected under the impact of demand recession, mainly in the developed regions, viz., the US and the EU. Exports in2009- 2010 is 90573 crore as compared to 66169 crore in 2008-09, hence showing a growth of 36.9%. EXCHANGE RATE Since the international business environment has no universal medium of exchange, exchange rates is a necessity for international trade. Presently, both translation and conversion of foreign currency involve the use of exchange rates. Therefore, in order to gain a more through understanding of foreign currency translation, it is important to examine the nature of exchange rates and the critical role they play in the international economy. The recent Asian currency crisis demonstrates how critically exchange rates impact economic developments. Economic factors affecting exchange rates include hedging activities, interest rates, inflationary pressures, trade imbalances, and market activities. The political factors influencing exchange rates include the established monetary policy along with government action or inaction on items such as the money supply, inflation, taxes, and deficit financing. Psychological factors also influence exchange rates. These factors include market anticipation, speculative pressures, and future expectations. MONETARY AND FISCAL POLICY Fiscal Policy Riding on the path of fiscal consolidation, in February 2008, the world economy was hit by three unprecedented crises first, the petroleum price rise; second, rise in prices of other commodities; and third, the breakdown of the financial system. The combined effect of these crises of these orders is bound to affect emerging market economies and India was no exception. The first two crises resulted in serious inflationary pressure in the first half of 2008-09. Series of fiscal measures both on tax revenue and expenditure side were undertaken with the objective of easing supply side constraints. These measures were supplemented by monetary initiatives through policy rate changes by the Reserve Bank of India and contributed to the softening of domestic prices. Additional budgetary resources of Rs.1, 50,320 crore was provided as part of stimulus package and various committed liabilities of Government including rising subsidy requirement, implementation of Central Sixth Pay Commission recommendations and Agriculture Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme for Farmers contributed to the higher fiscal deficit of 6 per cent of GDP in RE 2008-09 as compared to 2.5 per cent of GDP in B.E.2008-09. The measures taken by Government to counter the effects of the global meltdown on the Indian economy, have resulted in a short fall in revenues and substantial increases in government expenditures, leading to a temporary deviation from the fiscal consolidation path mandated under the FRBM Act during 2008-09 and 2009-2010. The fiscal policy for the year 2009-2010 is continued to be guided by the objectives of keeping the economy on the higher growth trajectory amidst global slowdown by creating demand through increased public expenditure in identified sectors. Monetary policy India has rapidly integrated into the global system and has linkages with the rest of the world not just through trade channels, but also through two-way movements of capital and finance. As an integral part of a globalizing world, India cannot be expected to remain immune to a global crisis and in responding to the crisis, India has to share the uncertainty on the way forward just like the rest of the world. Both the Government and the Reserve Bank have acted to protect the economy from the adverse impact of the crisis since mid-September 2008. While the Government has announced three major fiscal stimulus packages, the endeavor of the Reserve Bank has been to provide ample rupee liquidity, ensure comfortable dollar liquidity and maintain a monetary policy environment conducive for the continued flow of credit to productive sectors. Towards this endeavor, the Reserve Bank has adopted both conventional measures such as, for example, reduction of the cash reserve ratio (CRR), as well as unconventional measures such as, for example, the dollar swap facility for banks. To improve the flow of credit to productive sectors at viable costs so as to sustain the growth momentum, the Reserve Bank signaled a lowering of the interest rate structure by significantly reducing both its key policy rates the repo rate and the reverse repo rate.   The statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) has also been reduced by one percentage point releasing funds to banks for credit deployment. In the space of just one quarter, the repo rate has been reduced from 9.0 per cent to 5.5 per cent and the reverse repo rate from 6.0 per cent to 4.0 per cent, thereby bringing down both of them to historically lowest levels. The Reserve Bank of India lowered its benchmark repurchase rate to 7.5 percent from 8 percent. At the same time the central bank also reduced the cash reserve ratio to 5.5 percent from 6.5 percent, and cut the amount of money lenders are required to keep in government bonds to 24 percent from 25 percent. But the measures taken by government and the Reserve Bank will continue to maintain vigil, monitor domestic and global developments, and restore the economy to its potential growth path. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT The Indian Cement Industry with a capacity of around 125 Million Ton Per Annum (MTPA) is the fourth largest in the world after China, Japan and USA. However, the per capita consumption in the country is only around 90 kgs as compared to the world average of approx. 250 kgs. The Cement Industry is highly fragmented comprising of more than 50 players operating from more than 125 plants. The Cement Industry is cyclical and capital intensive. Cement is a key infrastructure industry. It has been decontrolled from price and distribution on 1st March, 1989 and delicensed on 25th July, 1991. However, the performance of the industry and prices of cement are monitored regularly. The constraints faced by the industry are reviewed in the Infrastructure Coordination Committee meetings held in the Cabinet Secretariat under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Coordination). Its performance is also reviewed by the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure. The Cement Industry witnessed a slow start in the FY 2005 due to change in the Government at the centre; slow down in infrastructure spending during the transition and adversities of drought like conditions in the South and West. The subsequent regaining of momentum enabled the industry clock a dispatch growth of 7% for the full year. The Cement sector appears to be on a sustainable growth path, given the strong outlook for the housing sector and the renewed momentum in infrastructure spending. The Cement sector appears to be on a sustainable growth path, given the robust outlook in Government infrastructure spending. It is expected that the industry would grow at an average 8% annual growth in the long run. The industry has witnessed consolidation in the recent years which is likely to increase with the entry of global players. Cement being an energy intensive industry; power and coal are the major cost contributors. Logistics also form a significant portion of the cost. The looming coal shortage will not only affect the cost, but also the quality of coal. Cement prices are expected to firm up across regions in the medium term on account of a better demand- supply balance and greater consolidation. The induction of advanced technology has helped the industry immensely to conserve energy and fuel and to save materials substantially. India is also producing different varieties of cement like Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (PBFS), Oil Well Cement, Rapid Hardening Portland Cement, Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement, White Cement etc. GROWTH PROSPECT The one Indian industry which is set for growth over the coming years is the Cement Industry. The industry is heavily dependent on 3 sectors; coal, power and transport. Energy and freight are the two major cost components. Over the last few years, while the proportion of energy cost has increased marginally, freight costs have declined. Increasing government expenditure on infrastructure sector and rising demand for commercial and residential real estate development has resulted in higher demand for cement in the country. According to a report by the ICRA Industry Monitor, the installed cement capacity is expected to increase to 241 million tones per annum by the end of 2010. It also expects that driven by higher domestic demand and increasing utilization, Indias cement industry may record an annual growth of 10% over the coming years. Taking cue of the global economic slowdown which was affecting cement companies in India last year, Governments initiative to re-impose counter-veiling duty and special counter-veiling duty this year will help provide a level playing field for domestic players. Moreover, it also appointed a coal regulator to facilitate timely and proper allocation of coal blocks to the important sectors like cement. As coal is one of the prime raw material used in cement production, this seems to be a positive move. Growth potential of cement industry can be judged by the fact that the per capita cement consumption (156 kg) in India is still well below the global average consumption (396 kg). This gap can be expected to be covered in the coming years. Besides, housing sector accounts for almost 50% of the total cement consumption in the country and the large young population will ensure that the demand for infrastructure stays put. The rising cost of energy, transportation raw material continues to pressure the industry as a whole. To sustain profitability, companies will have to explore alternate source of energy while at the same time enhance their operational efficiency. Industry experts opine that the cement industries should now increase their focus on investing adequately in developing human resources that will be capable enough to address the professional needs of construction industry including advanced technologies and construction practices, project management construction and litigation. We expect that the cement production and consumption both will grow substantially over the years. PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL Rivalry among Competing Firms Inter firm rivalry is very high in this sector. Reasons for this are manly large number of players in the market, intermittent overcapacity, marginal product differentiation, high storage cost and high exit barriers in the form of huge capital investment. Potential Entry of New Competitors In cement Industry technology and manpower are easily available but still entry of new firms is not that viable. This is because of huge capital investment, broad distribution network and oversupplied market. Potential Development of Substitute Products Only bitumen in road and engineering plastics in building offer some element of competition otherwise no close substitutes are popular in India. Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers of raw materials and intermediate goods is very high. Because of monopolistic control of external cost elements i.e. coal, power, transportation and taxes suppliers are enjoying high bargaining power with the government. Bargaining Power of Consumers Rising share of retail purchase, declining share of bulk purchase by government has taken away the bargaining power of customers. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Second largest in terms of capacity- In India there is approximately 124 large and 300 mini plants with installed capacity of 200 million tonnes. Low cost of production- Because of easy availability of raw material and cheap labor. Weakness Demand supply gap, overcapacity- the capacity additions distort the demand supply equilibrium in the industry thus affecting the profitability. Increasing cost of production due to increase in coal prices. High interest rate on housing- increase in interest rate from 7% to 12% has resulted in slowdown in residential property market. Opportunities Increase in infrastructure projects- Infrastructure accounts for 35% of cement consumption in India. And with increase in government focus on infrastructure spending such as roads, highways and airports, the cement demand is likely to grow in future. Growing middle class- There has been a increase in purchasing power of emerging middle class with rise in salary and wages, which results in rising demand for better quality of life that further necessitates infrastructure development and hence increase yhe demand for cement. Technological changes- At present 93% of the total capacity in industry is based on modern and environmental friendly dry process and only 7% is based on old wet and semi dry process technology. The induction of advanced technology has helped the industry immensely to conserve energy and to save materials substantially and hence reduce the cost of production. Threats Excess overcapacity can hurt margins as well as prices. COMPANY ANALYSIS ACC LIMITED Established in 1936, has been a pioneer and trend setter in cement and concrete technology. A prominent overseas presence and figuring on the elite list of consumer super brands of India but most importantly acc has been amongst the first Indian companies to make environment protection as cornerstone of its corporate objectives. The historic merger of ten existing companies has led to the established of acc- melding into a cohesive organization in 1936. It offers the services of ready made concrete and consultancy services. This company is listed by Bombay stock exchange, National stock exchange and in London. During year 2007 company acquired 100% equity stake in Lucky Minmat Private limited for Rs 35 crores and also acquired 43% stake in Shiva Cement Limited. Meanwhile the company divested its entire equity shares in Almatis ACC limited to the Almatis group. The overseas contact with YANBU Cement Company in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is successfully ongoing relationship from last 28 years and has been renewed up to Feb 28, 2011. The companys various manufacturing units are backed by a central technology support services centre the only one of its kind in the Indian cement industry. ACC has rich experience in mining, being the largest user of limestone. As the largest cement producer in India, it is one of the biggest customers of the domestic coal industry, of Indian Railways, and a considerable user of the countrys road transport network services for inward and outward movement of materials and products. The company has developed comprehensive expansion plans to meet the requirement of its agenda for growth with a view to attain leadership position in the cement industry, for that company made a project for augmentation of clinkering and cement grinding. Also it implements projects for augmenting grinding capacity at Madukkaria by 0.225 MTPA and New Wadi at 0.60 MTPA. Ready mix concrete business has been identified as area of strategic priority. ACC commissioned a Wind Energy Farm in Tamil Nadu to promote clean and green technology. The company foresees substantial scope for growth of this business in India. The company actively promotes the use of alternative fuels and raw materials and offers total solutions for waste management including testing, suggestions for reuse, recycling and co-processing. When we look at the values that are obtained using the DCF and the stock prices we can say that the prices of the companies stock are mispriced to a large extent. The intrinsic values for four consecutive years turned out to be negative which means that the shares are highly over priced. The investments in these stocks are very risky. ULTRATECH CEMENT Ultratech Cement Limited (UltraTech) is India-based one of the largest cement manufacturing company. UltraTech Cement was incorporated as a public limited company on 24th August 2000, as LT Cement Limited a 100% Subsidiary of Larsen Toubro Limited. The name of the Company was changed to UltraTech CemCo Limited with effect from 19th November 2003. The name of the company was again changed to UltraTech Cement Limited with effect from 11th October 2004. UltraTech Cement has an annual capacity of 18.2 million tones. It manufactures and markets Ordinary Portland Cement, Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement and Portland Pozzalana Cement. It also manufactures ready mix concrete (RMC). The company has five integrated plants, six grinding units and three terminals- two in India and one in Sri Lanka. It is the countrys largest exporter of cement clinker. The export marketspan countries around the Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The company has an annual cement production capacity of 18.2 million tones. It is a subsidiary of Grasim Industries Ltd. The company operates two subsidiary companies namely, Dakshin Cement Limited and UltraTech Ceylinco (P) Limited. The company is headquartering at Mumbai in India. The company reported revenues of (Rupee) INR 66,643.30 million during the fiscal year ended March 2009, an increase of 16.43% over 2008. The operating profit of the company was INR 13,678.20 million during the fiscal year 2009, a decrease of 9.73% from 2008. The net profit of the company was INR 9,780.60 million during the fiscal year 2009, a decrease of 3.17% from 2008. According to the analysis done by DCF model the value of the share are 1403.89. five year daily data has been taken for the analysis. RISK ANALYSIS A risk analysis involves identifying the most probable threats to an organization and analyzing the related vulnerabilities of the organization to these threats. In quantitative risk analysis, an attempt is made to numerically determine the probabilities of various adverse events and the likely extent of the losses if a particular event takes place. Qualitative risk analysis, which is used more often, does not involve numerical probabilities or predictions of loss. Instead, the qualitative method involves defining the various threats, determining the extent of vulnerabilities and devising countermeasures should an attack occur. NOTE: The values given in the above tables are calculated for the daily data taken for a period of 5 years for both the companies and the BSE Index (1st January 2006 31st January 2010) ANALYSIS: From the values in the average return, variance and standard deviation we can understand that the return in cement industry was negative for an investor who invested his money in those stocks for that particular period. The risk associated with Ultratech company stock is very high as it has very high standard deviation and variance when compared to the other company ACC Cement. The standard deviation and variance of Ultratech stock are greater than that of Index. Risk Analysis: To analyze the risk associated with a stock we have calculated 3 parameters. Beta, Sharpe and Treynor à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢ (Beta) Co-efficient (A Measure of Systematic Risk): The beta is a measure of systematic risk or Non-diversifiable risk. The beta of a stock measures the sensitivity or volatility of the stock with reference to a broad based market index, e.g. SENSEX in India. Sharpes Measure of Performance: Sharpe Measure measures the risk Premiums of the portfolio (average portfolio return less risk free return) relative to the total amount of risk in the portfolio (standard deviation of the portfolio). It is also called reward-to-variability ratio. The Sharpe ratio tells us whether a portfolios returns  are due to smart investment decisions or a result of excess risk. The higher the Sharpe ratio for a portfolio, the better the portfolio has performed. Treynors Measure of Performance: The Treynor measure is a relative measure of performance for investment managers and measures the return premium per unit of systematic risk (risk that cannot be diversified) as measured by the beta or relative volatility of the portfolio. While a high and positive Treynors Index shows a superior risk-adjusted performance of a fund, a low and negative Treynors Index is an indication of unfavorable performance. It is also called reward-to-volatility ratio. Analysis: Rf: The risk free return taken is a government treasury bill which has a return of 8% per annum. When we compare the movemen

Essay --

Introduction Social media is a very prominent and growing online trend that is being utilized for professional career profiles (LinkedIn), as a personal site to â€Å"pin† favorite links (Pinterest), and to watch streams of home videos of funny dogs (YouTube). Because of this hot craze, organizations are implementing these tools into their marketing strategy to assimilate and engage with their constituents. The main reason why social media is an effective tool for nonprofit marketing is because of its mobility and virtual way of creating a community of supporters. Additionally, nonprofits often face financial restrictions or lack of funding and require creative mechanisms to fulfill their mission. Consequently, social media has greatly impacted the development of spreading awareness by providing an online â€Å"word-of-mouth† channel that for the most part is free. While there are numerous outlets online (websites, blogs, forums), the purpose of this paper will explore an article by Chao Guo and Gregory Saxton, Tweeting Social Change: How Social Media Are Changing Nonprofit Advocacy. The goal is to examine specifically how Twitter is utilized for the initiatives and mission of advocacy-based nonprofits (2013). Additionally, this paper will cover related nonprofit marketing course content, how social media is useful and how it will impact the future for nonprofit marketing. Article Research Summary & Analysis Guo & Saxton’s (2013) main focus addressed â€Å"how nonprofit organizations are using social media to engage in advocacy work.† About 93% of the 188 investigated organizations adopted some kind of social media platform (Guo & Saxton, 2013). Following, 87% use Facebook, 80% mobilize through Twitter, 42% of users leverage on YouTube, and last... ...followers, maintaining up-to-date information, incorporating continuous dialogue, and managing to get others to share the message. Guo & Saxton addressed a number of communication messages that nonprofits use specifically through Twitter to target and attract different audiences; from â€Å"information†, â€Å"community-building† and â€Å"action† based messages, each of these contributed towards the marketing strategy (2013). Throughout the article, the authors identified that Twitter was used mainly as an information distributor and a space prominently filled with messages to educate others about the nonprofit. Nonetheless, regardless of which social media platform an organization chooses to use, Twitter or not, social media has the potential to educate many, recruit new members, get others to take action and ultimately advance the organization mission, with just a simple click.

Irving Howe and Inivisble Man :: Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

Invisible Man is a novel based on the journey and experiences of an unnamed Negro man during contemporary America. He is in search of success, companionship, and himself. Irving Howe says that, "The beginning is a nightmare," because it begins with a black timid boy who is awarded a scholarship and sent to the South and invited to a ballroom with other black boys and they observe and are frightened by a woman dancing nude. The boys who are blindfolded create a "battle royal" or a raucous, but after the chaos the black boy give a thank you speech. Although the beginning of the novel is a bit frightening, the rest of however is pretty straight forward, it basically just tells the life story of this "unnamed hero" (the Negro boy who is the Invisible Man). The "hero" goes to his Southern college, but is expelled, so is forced to leave for New York, where he works in a factory and becomes a soap boxer. Next Howe comments on Ellison’s style by calling him "gifted" but "not a finished craftsman." Howe means that Ellison tries to overwhelm the reader, when instead he should be either persuading or telling the story. The novel is written in first person singular and therefore Howe mentions that it is hard to distinguish between the hero and himself (the matured "I" telling the story and the "I" who is the victim). The middle section of the novel concerns the Harlem Stalinists (Communists), to Howe it appears untrue, due to the fact that Ellison wrote with bitterness and made the Stalinists seem stupid, vicious and cynical. He was not surprised either by the Invisible Man’s final discovery that after he quit the Communist Party, "my world has become one of infinite possibilities," because he did not want to be rejected nor not seen by various social groups. I agree with Howe, that Ellison is a very gifted writer, with an amazing style. I would have to disagree with Howe however, when he mentions that Ellison tries to overwhelm the reader and that it gets confusing because it is written in first person. Although Ralph Ellison, relies heavily on various symbol (visions and black and white), which can get confusing at times, but they can only help the novel and in no way destroy it. Also, Ellison’s style is also creative because it allows the novel to appear as if you were actually listen to a Negro telling the story, in the sense that Ellison’s wrote in the local dialect of the time (with a Southern Negro accent).

Boys Antisocial Behavior Essay -- Education Argumentative Persuasive

Boys' Antisocial Behavior In almost any college class you walk into you will find that there are more female students than male. This wasn't the case years ago. David Thomas' article " The Mind of Man" points out that women are progressing readily in today's society, but where are the men? Years ago men were the only ones permitted into colleges. But as time went by people's ways of thinking changed dramatically. People began to realize that girls were not getting the education boys were, and things had to be changed. I think of this change, that society made, as a pendulum. Years ago, the pendulum hung to one side. The side of boys' education. This side completely dismissed girls education. Society wanted to fix this wrong by moving the pendulum towards girls' education. The ideal thing would have been for the pendulum to have hung in the middle, with equal educational opportunities for both sexes. The problem though, according to Thomas' article, is that the pendulum went too far, and now the boys are being disregarded as the girls once were. There isn't a problem with girls being educated and getting ahead in the world, that's fantastic; the problem is, boys are not getting the same education. Thomas' believes that the problem begins in grade school. Something is occurring in elementary schools that is turning boys away from education. This something is, predominantly, female teachers. Being female myself I don't think that female teachers are bad, rather that most of them are unconsciously encouraging the anti-social behavior of boys. "Women teachers consistently praised girls more than boys, and equally consistently criticized the boys' behavior, often regarding it as a serious problem requiring remedial treatme... ...school teachers was increasing. Boys, however continued to out-perform girls in scientific and technical subjects where teaching was still dominated by men" (122). With the statistics provided we can see that boys are performing poorly academically when in the hands of women. It isn't known for sure what's causing this problem or how it can be fixed, but one must start by realizing that there is a problem. The only solution that I can think of is that each and every teacher must work at putting positive ideas and positive feelings into each and every child. It is a hard task, especially living in today's world, but if teachers can show children that there is a bright future waiting for them they will work towards getting there. Work Cited Thomas, David. "The Mind Of Man." The Presence of Others 3rd Edition. Bedford/St. Martins, New York. (2000) : 120-25. Boys' Antisocial Behavior Essay -- Education Argumentative Persuasive Boys' Antisocial Behavior In almost any college class you walk into you will find that there are more female students than male. This wasn't the case years ago. David Thomas' article " The Mind of Man" points out that women are progressing readily in today's society, but where are the men? Years ago men were the only ones permitted into colleges. But as time went by people's ways of thinking changed dramatically. People began to realize that girls were not getting the education boys were, and things had to be changed. I think of this change, that society made, as a pendulum. Years ago, the pendulum hung to one side. The side of boys' education. This side completely dismissed girls education. Society wanted to fix this wrong by moving the pendulum towards girls' education. The ideal thing would have been for the pendulum to have hung in the middle, with equal educational opportunities for both sexes. The problem though, according to Thomas' article, is that the pendulum went too far, and now the boys are being disregarded as the girls once were. There isn't a problem with girls being educated and getting ahead in the world, that's fantastic; the problem is, boys are not getting the same education. Thomas' believes that the problem begins in grade school. Something is occurring in elementary schools that is turning boys away from education. This something is, predominantly, female teachers. Being female myself I don't think that female teachers are bad, rather that most of them are unconsciously encouraging the anti-social behavior of boys. "Women teachers consistently praised girls more than boys, and equally consistently criticized the boys' behavior, often regarding it as a serious problem requiring remedial treatme... ...school teachers was increasing. Boys, however continued to out-perform girls in scientific and technical subjects where teaching was still dominated by men" (122). With the statistics provided we can see that boys are performing poorly academically when in the hands of women. It isn't known for sure what's causing this problem or how it can be fixed, but one must start by realizing that there is a problem. The only solution that I can think of is that each and every teacher must work at putting positive ideas and positive feelings into each and every child. It is a hard task, especially living in today's world, but if teachers can show children that there is a bright future waiting for them they will work towards getting there. Work Cited Thomas, David. "The Mind Of Man." The Presence of Others 3rd Edition. Bedford/St. Martins, New York. (2000) : 120-25.

Multi Criteria Analysis of the Local Environmental Impacts of a Factory

The chief constructs of this survey are environmental impact appraisal, environmental impact analysis, impact designation and significance finding. Environmental impact analysis is one of the phases of environmental impact appraisal ( EIA ) to inform determination shapers about the likely effects of their actions ( Sadler and McCabe, 2002 ; Wathern, 2013 ) . It includes impact designation and impact significance finding. Impact designation is the procedure of exemplifying cause and consequence relationship of a undertaking activities and their cardinal environmental facets, and needs a systematic expert cognition and judgement to qualify them ( Sadler and McCabe, 2002 ) . The cardinal environmental facets of this survey are activities that interacting straight with the environing environment and imposed environmental impacts in the two suppression and Pyro treating units of MCF. Significance is the strength of impacts that includes about the impacts’ beneficial or determiner, reversible or irreversible, repairable or irreparable, short-run or long-run, impermanent or uninterrupted, local, regional or planetary, inadvertent or planned, direct or indirect and cumulative or individual ( Canter & A ; Canty, 1993 ) . Significance finding is a procedure of building judgements which is of import, desirable or acceptable of impacts ( Lawrence, 2007a & A ; b ; Sippe, 1999 ) . It is besides a anticipation of impact magnitude ( Thompson, 1990 ) . In add-on, impact significance finding considered impact features such as magnitude, continuance, frequence, spacial distribution, reversibility, likeliness, nature and timing ( Beanlands & A ; Duinker, 1983 ; McCabe, 2002 ) . In another instance, Canter & A ; Canty ( 1993 ) related the impact significance finding with showing and scoping. The showing and scoping are performed before a undertaking execution to look into whether an environmental impact survey is needed or non. However, this survey chiefly focused on bing mill to make up one's mind its farther monitoring and commanding way on the bing important impacts. Therefore, impact significance finding of this survey is the procedure of doing judgement about of import or desirableness of the impacts of the bing production procedure of the mill. It is the procedure of placing the local impacts of the two treating units ( Fig 1.1 ) by associating the causes and effects, and analysing it for farther attending and commanding mechanisms. By and large, environmental impact analysis of this survey is referred to the procedure of placing and analysing the defined impacts and provided indicants for the decisive organic structure to the effects of the existed pr oduction activities of the mill.Model of the surveyThis survey framed on the integrating of Multi Criteria Analysis ( MCA ) and perceptual experience study analysis to roll up and analyse informations about local environmental impacts of the mill ( Figure 2.1 ) . This model comprises the stairss of the multi-criteria analysis of the survey and how this integrates with perceptual experience study analysis.1.1.1.Impact designationThe first measure of the MCA for this survey was local impact designation that comprises designation of activities and environmental facets led to local environmental impacts. To place the local environmental impacts sing the overall cement production procedures of the mill are needed. It helps to find the chief activities performed to bring forth cement and their environmental facets. Face to confront interviews with the higher forces of the mill and literature were the beginning of informations for local impact designation. The higher forces included two pr ocedure directors from crush and raw factory ( CRM ) and coal and kiln ( COK ) treating units and a deputy general director of the mill and they selected purposively. The interviewees had 10 to 16 old ages of work experience in the mill. The survey collected informations utilizing cardinal informant interview ( Annex 10 questionnaire II ) , site visit, structured questionnaire ( Annex 10 questionnaire I ) and literature reappraisal as informations aggregation instruments. The cardinal informant interview was integrated with site visits to understand the cardinal activity of each processing unit and their environmental facets and possible impacts. In add-on, it was supported by structured questionnaire about overall images of the mill. The collected informations about the impact designation was compiled utilizing the checklist. The checklist used to sum up the identified activities, environmental facets and possible impacts. This was taken topographic point by incorporating of the relationship of flow of procedure of activities and environment facets that resulted in impacts.1.1.2.Criteria designationStandards are necessary to find the significance of impacts.Generally, standards features includemagnitude of the impact, continuance, frequence, spacial distribution, reversibility, likeliness, nature and timing ( Beanlands & A ; Duinker, 1983 ; McCabe, 2002 ) . Hence, these features are wide and are used foranytype of impact, to be more specific on local environmental impacts this survey adopted six standards byKumar & amp ; Armani ( 2012 ) listed inTable 2.1.These adopted standards are easy apprehensible by local stakeholders and all fulfills the standard demands listed by Dodgso, et Al. ( 2009 ) . These demands are completeness, avoids similarity and redundancy, selects of import to judge option /impacts in this study/ , gives precedence for impact comparing and rating, options are independent, avoids dual numeration, manageable standards size. The standards had a value ranged from one ( lower limit ) to ten ( Maximum ) on the Likert graduated table that made easier the respondents to set their judgements about the local impacts numerically. Table 2.1: Detail description of the adopted standards and scope of their value.MagnitudeHappeningImpactDetectionControlsLegislation adoptedThe size or the extent of the impactFrequency of the impactThe grade of consequence of the impactFeeling clip of the impacts or the consequenceControling steps to the beginning of the consequence taking in the millThe position of following with the states criterions5 – severe6-continuous6– fatal to life5-more than 24 hours5– absence or no effectual control10– no meeting statute law or control bound3- centrist5-several times a twenty-four hours5-health effects4– within 24 hours4– mechanism but non dependable1– in conformity1- low4– one time a twenty-four hours4– affects vegetations and zoologies3– within 8 hours3-control needs human intercession3– one time a hebdomad3– resource ingestion2– within 1 hours2-has built-in secondary control2-once a month2– uncomfortableness1– instantly1– available and effectual at beginning1-very rare1– negligible ocular impact1.1.3.Burdening standardsFollowing to following the standard was burdening of these standards which is specifying the comparative importance of the standards to judge the local impacts. In this survey weighting was determined through ranking of the standards by experts found in different sectors of the regional province, such as Tigray Environmental Protection, Land Administration and Use Agency ( TEPLAUA ) , Bureau of Labor and Social Affairs ( BoLSA ) , Bureau of Urban Development, Trade and Industry ( BoUDTI ) and Bureau of Health ( BoH ) . Data was collected in a structured questionnaire ( Annex 11 questionnaire II ) . The experts were selected purposively from the sectors. These sectors are selected, because they have responsible experts to measure and command the mills in the Tigray regional province. Based on the features of the experts, 80 % of the experts were master degree holders in different field specialisation. The experts’ work experience was 60 % 1-5 old ages, 40 % above 5 old ages. The 90 % of the experts were responsible to measure and command mill, in relation to environmental issues. The ranks were converted to burden utilizing the expression specified in equation 1. It was analyzed utilizing Rank Order Centroid ( ROC ) method ( Barron & A ; Barrett, 1996 ; Edwards & A ; Barron, 1994 ) . This is a procedure of change overing the ranks given by the experts into weights [ 1 ] of each single rank for each standard, and so calculated the mean weight ( WI) for each standard among each other. i= 1, 2†¦ , 6.( Equation1) Where WIis the weight for each IThursdaystandards, N is the figure of standards and K is a rank given by experts.1.1.4.Scoring environmental facetsAfter burdening, the following measure was hiting to the identified environmental facets. The beginning of informations for this measure was employees in the mill, and the information was collected in a structured questionnaire ( Annex 11 questionnaire IV and V ) . The employees selected utilizing a bunch sample method by constellating them in three working displacements. Then, ten employees were selected utilizing a simple random method from each displacement which is a sum of 60 employees ( 30 from CRM and 30 from COK ) from the mill. Respondents are characterized: in CRM, 40 % sheepskin and 60 % grade holders, and their working experiences are the 30 % 1-5 old ages, 33 % 6-10years and 37 % above 10 old ages. In COK: 57 % sheepskin and 43 % degree holders. Wholly participants were 48 % sheepskin and 52 degree holder employees participate in hiting. Their on the job experience was 30 % employees had 1-5 old ages, 38 % employees 6-10 old ages and 32 % employees had above 10 old ages. The mark given for each impacts by each employee is calculated its norm by ratio method ( RM ) . The RM was calculated the mean mark utilizing the amount of entire respondents replied to each mark multiplied by the value given in the Likert graduated table and divided by the entire figure of respondents participated in hiting ( equation 2 ) . ( Equation2) Where OmegaIis mean mark of IThursdayidentified impacts, RNis the figure of respondents replied to the mark of IThursdayimpact and VIis the given value in the Likert graduated table of the IThursdaystandard ( Table2.1 ) . RoentgenThymineentire figure of respondents participated in marking.1.1.5.Accumulating end productsThe cumulative grade of impact of each activity calculated from the end products of ROC and RM. They combined utilizing comparative significance ( equation 3 ) ( Deng et al, 2011: Noah & A ; Lee, 2003 ) . ( Equation3) Whereis a comparative significance of impactsis the weight for IThursdaystandards andis the deliberate mean mark of IThursdayidentified impact on the Kithstandards. Note that the scope of standards ‘legislation adoption’ was modified to ‘1’ for the mean mark 1-2, ‘2’ for 3-4, ‘3’ for 5-6, ‘4’ for 7-8 and ‘5’ for 9-10. It keeps the comparison of the standards during taking the combined consequence of the merchandise summing up of the tonss and weights. For impact significance finding, benchmark scene is necessary to place the ‘significant’ and ‘insignificant’ impacts by comparing cumulative consequences of impact significance finding against the stated benchmark ( Table 2.2 ) . This helps to find what and where betterments are needed. Table 2.2: The manner of puting benchmarks of the survey.StandardsTot Respondent50 % MarkStandards WeightCombination 50 % mark & A ; The weight of standardsMagnitude302.50.1760.4Happening3.00.2040.6Impact3.00.3261.0Detection2.50.1270.3Controls2.50.1110.3Legislation adopted3.00.1030.3Decisive value2.9Table 2.2 shows the procedure of benchmarking to find the significance of the impacts. Benchmark decided by presuming the 50 % scope value of the standards in the Likert graduated table given as a mark. Consequently, the survey sets 2.9 as benchmark to make up one's mind the significance of possible impacts. The deliberate weight utilizing ROC is straight used for the benchmarking. When the combined consequence of the impacts equal or less than 2.9 it is undistinguished and if the consequence is greater than 2.9 it is important and needs farther controlling and monitoring steps.1.1.6.Perception study analysisThis survey did perceptual experience study analysis to compare the community perceptual experience on the impacts with the consequences of the employees about the significance of the local environmental impacts of the mill. The survey used local community ‘s families as a beginning of informations to the study analysis. In the study a sum of 120 local communities’ from entire population of 1122 families were participated and selected indiscriminately. These families were 68.3 % male households’ caputs and the remainder were female households’ caputs. Their age was 75 % in the age scope of 31-50 old ages, 17.5 % in more than 51 old ages and 7.5 % in the age of 18-30 old ages. The 65.0 % of the families can read and compose and the staying completed primary and high school instruction. The 99.2 % of the participant family has lived in the topographic point since their birth. The distance of the respondent’s place from the mill, 52.5 % of the respondents are populating at a distance of above 200 metres radius the remainder 33.3 % and 14.2 % respondents are populating within 101-200m and 100 m radius ( Annex 10 Table 9.1 ) . The Data was collected from the families utilizing structured interview ( Annex11 questionnaire VI ) . Descriptive statistic ( means, frequence, per centum and count ) was used to analyse the collected information from the local community in the SPSS statistical bundle. Note that the community perceptual experience on environmental impacts assessed their understanding utilizing ‘disagree’ , ‘not much’ and ‘agree’ . However, the ‘not much’ count is included to ‘disagree’ count on the presented informations, because it was perceived that similar account between ‘not much’ and ‘disagree’ during informations aggregation ( Annex 10 Table 9.3 ) .1.1.7.Examine consequencesThis is the procedure of impact significance finding from the overall gathered and processed informations. It is a measure that determined the cardinal environmental facets and their effect, and is identified the beginnings from bing activities’ of the treating units. In add-on, it is correlated to the consequences of other bookmans and within the consequences of this survey. In add-on, it is the procedure of set uping the decision of this survey.