Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Free Essays

Autism Spectrum Disorder – Causes, Reasons and Treatment Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined as a developmental disability that affects people’s personalities based on how they interact with the world (Magalhaes and Almeida, 2010). However, Sparks and Dager (2012, p. 187) defines ASD as â€Å"a serious neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs one’s ability to communicate and interact with others. We will write a custom essay sample on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or any similar topic only for you Order Now † Various ASD definitions are known to be universal since they recognise it as a spectral condition (Baird et al., 2016). In his study, Umekage (2011, p. 25), indicates that ASD is a hidden disability coupled with foetal brain damage as well as impairment of neural vitro development. Characterised by interests, activities and repetitive behaviours, ASD is so complex that it varies from one case to another (Akanksha et al., 2011). Despite various studies on the reasons, causes and treatment of ASD, there are relatively unknown rationale for its causes. Chandler and Baird (2015, p. 923) posits that people with ASD need different kinds of support since their ways of development and learning differ from every individual. The aim of this paper is to discuss the causes, reasons and treatment of ASD. Causes of ASD Although there are undetermined causes of ASD, scientists as well as medical practitioners believe that an amalgamation of genetic and environmental factors are the two major causes of ASD (Fitzgerald and Geschwind, 2013). To start with, the cause of ASD via genetic factors is not a simple process, but a complex of progression that involve multiple genes. Causes of ASD – Gentics Autism Spectrum Disorder As indicated by Schechtman (2014, p.86) study, the rate of ASD development in identical twins as well as monozygotic is higher than rates in dizygotic and same-sex fraternal twins. This indicates that fraternal twins only share some genes, while identical twins have equal genes and therefore genes contributes much to autism. More so, Brothers as well as sisters of children with autism have high level of autism (Fitzgerald and Geschwind, 2013). From another perspective, Smith and John (2011, p. 803) in their research attributed that siblings share certain problems such as language as well as learning difficulties if one of the sibling has autism. However, it is not clear if autism is inherited as well as more general predisposition difficulties. To modify or extend this essay or to get pricing on a custom essay Contact Us Today Causes of ASD – Environmental Factors Secondly, ASD can be caused by environmental factors. Environmental toxins such as mercury and thimerosoal vaccines cause autism stems (Mercer et al., 2016). More so, congenital rubella infection is one of the environmental factors that cause ASD. However, Goin-Kochel and Myers (2015, p. 172) disputes that there is any clarity environmental factors causing ASD and therefore more studies needs to be done. Rich and Isager (2012, p. 410) adds â€Å"some of the evidence proposed for environmental factors is based on case reports, which are often difficult to interpret.† Reasons for ASD ASD as mentioned earlier, ASD can be caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors, however, we have reasons ASD occurs. First, Autism exists when a single gene known as fragile X syndrome (FXS) exists in the blood (Hessl and Schneider, 2013). FXS is defined as a syndrome that is coupled with autism as well as intellectual disability (Visootsak and Picker, 2015). As per Wehner and Hagerman (2011, p. 415), â€Å"Whereas ASD is a behavioural diagnosis, FXS is a medical, or more accurately, a genetic diagnosis and therefore when associated with FXS, ASD is caused by the genetic change or mutation in the Fragile X gene.† This alters normal blood circulation, hence ASD. Secondly, individuals are affected by ASD when tuberous sclerosis, chromosome 15q and other genetic conditions subsist (Hessl and Schneider, 2013). ASD Treatment – Medications Core symptoms associated with ASD have no medication and cure, but we have medications that help to manage high energy levels of ASD, seizures, inability to focus as well as depression symptoms (Burrell and Borrego, 2012). The first treatment method utilised during ASD is the early intervention service. This method improves individual’s development, especially children with ASD (Buitelaar and Wong, 2014). These services, such as vitamin therapy, auditory training, facilitated communication and physical therapy improve children talk, interaction and walk. Early intervention services attribute the theory of mind as an explanatory ASD theory that reflects on the symptom criteria (A) of the DSM-5. As per Gallese and Goldman (2012, p. 496), the theory of mind was created by Uta Frith, Alan Leslie and Simon Baron-Cohen in 1985 to explain communication persistence as well as social interaction for people with ASD. ASD Treatment – Behaviours and Communication The second method used for ASD treatment is the behaviours and communication approaches. This method involves direct, organised and structural ways for people with ASD to participate in a given paediatric events and medication. As per Burrell and Borrego (2012, p. 424), applied behaviour analysis (ABA) is utilised as a treatment of ASD via behaviour and communication approach to encourage positive and discourage negative behaviours hence improving various skills needed during ASD treatment. This is in relation to the theory of executive dysfunction which states, â€Å"Executive functions (EF) are a set of cognitive skills that are put into practice through autonomous activities.† Most of these EF skills are utilised by ASD patients to boost their flexibility, organisation, objectives and goals, anticipation as well as to be able to control their impulses (Buitelaar and Wong, 2014). Thirdly, ASD can be treated through dietary approaches. Change in diet, such as using certain foods, mineral supplements and vitamin helps to treat certain ASD effects. However, Talalay and Zimmerman (2014) posit that although dietary approach is considered as one of the ASD treatment, there is no scientific support and recommendation. Finally, ASD can be treated using complementary and alternative treatments. Treatments associated with complementary and alternative approaches include chelation, biological such as secretin, special diets and body-based systems (Burrell and Borrego, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, the aim of this paper was to discuss the causes, reasons and treatment of the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Being a hidden disability coupled with foetal brain damage as well as impairment of neural vitro development, ASD has varied and complex behaviours hence there is unknown treatment for core symptoms. Generally, ASD is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors such as genes inheritance and environmental toxins respectively. Some of the treatments for ASD as discussed included the used of the early intervention services, the behaviours and communication approaches, dietary approaches and complementary and alternative treatments. Characterised by interests, activities and repetitive behaviours, ASD is so complex that it varies from one case to another and therefore its treatments depends on an individual case. To modify or extend this essay or to get pricing on a custom essay Contact Us Today Bibliography Akanksha, M., Sahil, K., Premjeet, S. and Bhawna, K. (2011) â€Å"Autism spectrum disorders(ASD).† International Journal of research in ayurveda pharmacy, 2(5), pp.1541- 1546. Baird, G., Simonoff, E. and Charman, T. (2016) â€Å"Prevalence of disorders of the autism spectrum in a population cohort of children in South Thames: the Special Needs and Autism Project (SNAP).† The lancet, 368(9531), pp.210-215. Burrell, L. and Borrego, J. (2012) â€Å"Parents’ Involvement in ASD Treatment: What Is Their Role?.† Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 19(3), pp.423-432. Buitelaar, K. and Wong, C. (2014) â€Å"Psychopharmacological prescriptions for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD): a multinational study.† Psychopharmacology, 231(6), pp.999-1009. Chandler, S. and Baird, G. (2015) â€Å"Psychiatric disorders in children with autism spectrum disorders: prevalence, comorbidity, and associated factors in a population-derived sample.† Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(8), pp.921-929. Fitzgerald, R. and Geschwind, D. (2013) â€Å"Autism recurrence in half siblings: strong support for genetic mechanisms of transmission in ASD.† Molecular psychiatry, 18(2), p.137-140. Goin-Kochel, P. and Myers, B. (2015) â€Å"Congenital versus regressive onset of autism spectrum disorders: Parents’ beliefs about causes.† Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 20(3), pp.169-179. Gallese, V. and Goldman, A. (2012) â€Å"Mirror neurons and the simulation theory of mind-reading.† Trends in cognitive sciences, 2(12), pp.493-501. Hessl, D. and Schneider, A. (2013) â€Å"Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). In Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders 79(2), pp. 1320-1324. Magalhaes, T. and Almeida, J. (2010) â€Å"Functional impact of global rare copy number variation in autism spectrum disorder.† Nature, 466(7304), pp.368-401. Mercer, L., Creighton, S. and Lewis, S. (2016) â€Å"Parental perspectives on the causes of an autism spectrum disorder in their children.† Journal of Genetic Counseling, 15(1), pp.41-50. Rich, B. and Isager, T. (2012) â€Å"Mortality and causes of death in autism spectrum disorders: an update.† Autism, 12(4), pp.403-414. Sparks, B. and Dager, S. (2012) â€Å"Brain structural abnormalities in young children with autism spectrum disorder.† Neurology, 59(2), pp.184-192. Schechtman, M. (2014) â€Å"Scientifically unsupported therapies in the treatment of young children with autism disorders.† Psychiatric Annals, 37(9), pp. 79-92. Smith, S. and John, W. (2011) â€Å"Col4a1 mutation causes endoplasmic reticulum stress and genetically modifiable ocular dysgenesis.† Human molecular genetics, 16(7), pp.798- 807. Talalay, P. and Zimmerman, A. (2014) â€Å"Sulforaphane treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).† Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(43), pp.50-55. Umekage, T. (2011) â€Å"Association of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene polymorphisms with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the Japanese population.† Journal of human genetics, 55(3), pp. 23-32. Visootsak, J. and Picker, J. (2015) â€Å"Advances in the treatment of fragile X syndrome.† Pediatrics, 123(1), pp.378-390. Wehner, A. and Hagerman, R. (2011) â€Å"The behavioral phenotype in fragile X: symptoms of autism in very young children with fragile X syndrome, idiopathic autism, and otherdevelopmental disorders.† Journal of developmental behavioral pediatrics, 22(6), pp.409-417. To modify or extend this essay or to get pricing on a custom essay Contact Us Today Other Links: Summary Reviewer Admin – Jane Review Date 2017-07-18 Reviewed Item Autism Spectrum Disorder – Causes, Reasons and Treatments Author Rating 5 How to cite Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Essay examples

Financial Statement Analysis Qantas & Virgin Australia Airlines

Question: Explain briefly what is revealed by the ratios and other calculations in the context of the company's profitability, asset efficiency,liquidity,capital structure, and market performance. In particular, any important changes over the period 2013 rto 2014 should be identified, discussed and where possible, explained? Answer: Executive Summary The report has been prepared for general financial analysis comparing Qantas Airline financial position and performance in the financial years Ended 30 June 2013 and 2014 compared to that of Virgin Australia over the same period. Are You Daunted by the Thought of Due Assignments? Avail Our Services and Receive Assignment Help from Experts. Considering the different ratios it can be said that both Qantas and Virgin Australia have similar performance trend over the last two years for the different financial parameters. The overall analysis of the performance of the two companies shows that Virgin Australia has performed better than Qantas. In all the aspects it can be viewed that Virgin Australia has better managed the business and is more likely to recover from the crisis that is prevailing in the company. Qantas on the other hand will have to ensure that the situation does not deteriorate further. Introduction Financial Analysis of the company is very important from the different viewpoint. The report has been prepared for general financial analysis comparing Qantas Airline financial position and performance in the financial years Ended 30 June 2013 and 2014 compared to that of Virgin Australia over the same period. Based on the analysis the performance of the two companies has been evaluated. About the company The brief detail about the companies for which the analysis is being conducted has been provided below. Qantas The company was founded in the year 1920 and is currently the biggest domestic and international airline of Australia. The company has been struggling with the financial aspects since 2011 as the company has been impacted by certain changes in the accounting standards specifically to the impairment of assets. Apart from this the company has also entered into the alliance with UAE based Emirates Airlines. There has been focus on the reducing the fleet size and the jobs in company following the huge loss made by the company in 2014. Virgin Australia Virgin Australia Airlines is also the largest companies in Australia operating in the airlines industry. Started in 2000 with two aircrafts that were operating on single route, the company capitulated its position following the collapse of Ansett Australia in 2001. Although the company has been impacted by the financial crisis, there have been several changes in the way the company has managed and bring in the services for its customers. Financial Statement Analysis Financial Statement analysis is used by analysts for the analysis of the performance of the company. The perspective for which the analysis is being performed may be different. The two key performance indicators that are highlighted from the financial statement analysis are (Helfert, 1996) Evaluation of the performance of the company over a given period Evaluation of the performance of the company in comparison to the industry players The financial statement analysis that has been performed in this report includes the various ratios such as profitability, liquidity, efficiency, leverage and market ratios. Apart from this the general discussion has been performed with respect to the horizontal and vertical analysis. Based on all these ratios the performance of the two companies has been compared. Profitability Ratios The profitability ratios that have been calculated have been analyzed in two parts. These are the profit margin and returns. The profit margin highlights the profitability and interest expense with reference to the sales of the company and the margin that is there (Thompson, 2004). The profitability ratios associated with the return highlights the return that is generated for the equity employed, assets and the equity employed. The various ratios that have been calculated as part of the profitability ratios have been shown below Virgin Australia Qantas Profitability Ratio 2014 2013 2014 2013 Gross Profit /Operational profit -8.81% -2.48% -24.57% 1.25% Net Profit -8.30% -2.46% -18.52% 0.01% Interest to Sales ratio 2.79% 1.77% 1.86% 1.86% Return on Shareholder funds -33.93% -8.91% -99.20% 0.03% return on Assets -5.04% -0.60% -14.76% 1.49% Return on Capital Employed -13.69% -3.62% -38.52% 1.48% Based on the above figures it can be said that the performance of both the companies isnt quite encouraging. Both the companies have made losses in the last two years. This is highlighted by the negative profit margin ratios of the companies. It can be said that the losses made by Qantas have been higher than Virgin Australia in comparison to the sales. Further there is huge variation in the net profit margin in comparison to the gross profit of Qantas. In order to calculate the gross profit the operating profit of the company has been considered. The return ratios are based on the profit margin earned by the company and hence there has been negative return in case of capital employed, total assets and the equity employed by the shareholders. The capital employed is the difference of the total assets and the current liability. Further the return on the capital employed is measured in reference to the gross profit whereas the return on total assets and the shareholders equity is measured in terms of net profit made by the company (Vandyck, 2006). In this case as well there has been huge fall in the returns because of the huge losses made by the company. The situation is quite adverse for Qantas as although the equity employed has reduced the fall in the return has been higher than Virgin Australia. This shows that the company has made higher losses in comparison to Virgin Australia. Overall the profitability ratios highlight that both the companies have made losses in the two years and these losses are increasing substantially. The situation is more adverse of Qantas as not only the profitability has come down but there is drastic fall in the equity that has been employed. Liquidity Ratios The liquidity ratios highlight the ability of the company to meet the short term financial requirements of the company. The liquidity ratios that have been considered for the purpose of analysis have been shown below Virgin Australia Qantas Liquidity Ratio 2014 2013 2014 2013 Current Ratio 0.64 0.54 0.66 0.75 Operating Cash Flow ratio 0.00 0.07 0.14 0.21 Acid Ratio 0.62 0.52 0.61 0.69 The current ratio of both the companies is below one which means that the current assets of the company are lower than the current liabilities. This fall in current assets means that the needs of the current liabilities will be fulfilled by the non-current assets of the company. Further the acid ratio, signifying current assets available without considering the inventory, has been compared. The acid ratio is more dynamic in comparison to the current ratio as it considers more readily available cash and inventory isnt considered in this. There isnt much difference between the current ratio and the acid ratio for both the companies. Finally with respect to the operating cash flow it can be said that the operating cash flow for both the companies highlight the cash flow from operations contributing very little to meet the current liabilities. The liquidity ratios shown above highlight that both Virgin Australia and Qantas have not been able to meet the short term requirements and may be utilizing the non-current assets of the company (Brigham, 2010). The further analysis on this aspect can be highlighted by the horizontal and vertical analysis. This highlights that the non-current assets of Qantas have reduced considerably from 2013 to 2014. Further Virgin Australia has been able to improve on the performance with respect to current ratio over the two year period. As a result of this there isnt much impact on the non-current assets of the company. Lastly the cash availability is a huge concern for both companies. Cash is the major source of current assets of the company and it has the insignificant effect on the performance of the companies. The companies need to improve the liquidity ratios as any further dependency on the non-current assets would mean that the sales of the company may be impacted which would further agg ravate the situation. Efficiency Ratios The efficiency ratios highlight the effective utilization of the assets of the company. The efficiency ratios are measured with respect to the sales made by the company. The total assets that have been considered are the end of the year figures that are there at the end of the year. The various efficiency ratios that have been calculated are as follows Virgin Australia Qantas Efficiency Ratio 2014 2013 2014 2013 Sales Revenue : Capital Employed 1.55 1.46 1.57 1.19 Debtor turnover (Days) 25.79 23.56 28.44 32.96 Creditor turnover (Days) 48.55 51.84 35.33 42.86 Total Asset Turnover 0.92 0.88 0.89 0.79 Inventory Turnover 129.21 137.14 60.33 43.14 The efficiency ratios are quite important as it shows the extent to which assets have been employed and at the same time managed in order meet the cash flow requirements and the expenses of the companies. The sales to capital employed and the total asset turnover of the companies shows that both the companies have ensured that the sales are increased for the given capital that has been employed by the company. In case of Qantas the sales for the capital employed has been higher than Virgin Australia. Although there has been increase in the sales to capital employed has been increased, this increase is higher for Qantas. This means that the company has been quite efficient in generating sales from the capital employed. Further analysis has been made with respect to the debtor and creditor turnover. The analysis of both the ratios for Qantas shows that the there has been fall in both debtor and creditor turnover. There has been greater fall in the creditor turnover as the accounts payable by the company has come down (Vandyck, 2006). On the other hand considering the debtor and creditor turnover ratios of Virgin Australia it can be said that the difference between these ratios is higher than Qantas. Thus Virgin Australia has more efficiently utilized the debtors and the creditors. This must have contributed to the cash flow to a certain level. The inventory turnover ratio highlights that the inventory level of both the companies has been quite low and therefore most of the sales is generated and assets are employed from the effective current assets resources. This aspect has been highlighted the current ratios as well. A very important relation that has to be analyzed is with respect to the efficiency ratio and the liquidity ratio is that the efficiency ratios highlight the efficient utilization of the current assets or the maximizing of the cash flow which will considerably improve the liquidity of the company and thus improve the liquidity ratios (Brigham, 2010). The overall assessment of the efficiency ratios shows that the companies have been quite effectively generated the sales and managed the cash flow to a certain extent. The efficiency ratios for Qantas have been better in comparison to Virgin Australia. Gearing Ratios The gearing ratios highlight the level of leverage or debt that has been employed by the company. The gearing ratios that have been calculated are Virgin Australia Qantas Gearing Ratio 2014 2013 2014 2013 Debt to Equity 163.21% 148.13% 241.70% 129.20% Debt to Total Assets 36.56% 35.88% 40.00% 37.66% Loans: Capital Employed 62.01% 59.70% 70.73% 56.37% Interest Cover -3.16 -1.40 -13.19 0.67 Both the companies are highly leveraged as the debt has the major share in the capital structure of the company. Qantas is more leveraged in comparison to Virgin Australia. Further the debt to total assets ratio shows that the funding of total assets is almost similar for both the companies. This highlights that the debt has been employed to meet the other financial requirements of the company which can be the current liabilities (White, Sondhi Fried, 2002). This is highlighted by the other ratio wherein it has been specified that loans are more than 60% in the capital employed by the company. The interest coverage ratio is quite irrelevant in the present scenario as the companies have made loss. The overall study of the gearing ratios shows that the companies are excessively leveraged. In case of Qantas the debt contribution has almost doubled as a large number of investors withdrew the investment from the company. This excessive leverage of both the companies has impacted the performance of the companies as this not only resulted in additional expense in the form of interest but also resulted in limited scope of further employing debt and increasing the operations (Thompson, 2004). Market Ratios Various market ratios have to be analyzed in order to assess the performance of the company with respect to the viewpoint of the investors. The market ratios that have been considered are price to earnings ratio and the dividend yield. Both the companies have not given any dividend to the shareholders in the last two years. Further the analysis of the price to earnings ratio shows that the market value per share has come down. However the fall in the earnings per share has been higher. In case of Virgin Australia there is marginal increase in the price. Thus Virgin Australia has higher price to earnings ratio in comparison to the Qantas. This signifies that the investors does not consider that Qantas has better prospects in terms of returns than Virgin and thus the faith in Virgin has been maintained which is reflected in the share price. Overall the analysis of the market ratios shows that the Virgin Airlines has been the choice of the investors in comparison to Qantas. This may be due to the factors that have already been discussed and shows that market performance of the company is aligned with the financial performance of the company. From the viewpoint of the market as well it is better to invest in Virgin Airlines than Qantas. Horizontal Vertical Analysis and other considerations The horizontal analysis highlights the changes in the different aspects of the financial statement considering the year 2013 as the base year. The vertical analysis is the contribution of the different aspect in the total assets of the company. The horizontal analysis of Qantas shows that apart from liabilities all the factors such as sales, equity employed and the assets of the company have come down. On the other hand the performance of Virgin Australia in this aspect shows that although the company has made loss, there has been increase in the sales, assets and marginal fall in the equity (White, Sondhi Fried, 2002). Also the liabilities have increased marginally. The performance of Virgin Australia in the current year will be important The vertical analysis highlights that both the companies have similar structure. This is to say that the noncurrent asset of the companies has around 75% share in the total assets of the company. Further the share of inventory has been significantly low and will have no significant impact on the performance of the company. Further it is important to consider that the cash is major contributor to the current assets as the account receivable is also quite low. Thus both the companies have ensured that the cash level is maintained although the current liabilities arent fulfilled by this. Apart from the capital structure the analysis of the expenses of the company shows that the Virgin Australia had the expenses related to labor staff and the fuel expense. In case of Qantas the impairment of cash generating unit is significantly high. Considering this aspect it can be said that Virgin Australia has better scope of increasing the profitability by managing the operational expenses whereas in case of Qantas the accounting standards have impacted the expense and is likely to continue with less control over these aspects. Conclusion The overall analysis of the performance of the two companies shows that Virgin Australia has performed better than Qantas. The profitability ratios highlight that both the companies have made losses in the two years and these losses are increasing substantially. The situation is more adverse of Qantas as not only the profitability has come down but there is drastic fall in the equity that has been employed. The liquidity ratios shown above highlight that both Virgin Australia and Qantas have not been able to meet the short term requirements and may be utilizing the non-current assets of the company. The companies need to improve the liquidity ratios as any further dependency on the non-current assets would mean that the sales of the company may be impacted which would further aggravate the situation. Lastly the overall study of the gearing ratios shows that the companies are excessively leveraged. In case of Qantas the debt contribution has almost doubled as a large number of investors withdrew the investment from the company. Based on the analysis of the income statement it can be said that Virgin Australia has better scope of increasing the profitability by managing the operational expenses whereas in case of Qantas the accounting standards have impacted the expense and is likely to continue with less control over these aspects. The analysis of the market ratios shows that the Virgin Airlines has been the choice of the investors in comparison to Qantas. This may be due to the factors that have already been discussed and shows that market performance of the company is aligned with the financial performance of the company. From the viewpoint of the market as well it is better to invest in Virgin Airlines than Qantas. Overall the performance of the two companies has been quite similar in terms of the profitability, liquidity, efficiency and the gearing ratios. It can be attributed to the industry conditions as both operate in the same industry. However the analysis of the expenses of both the company shows the difference between the two companies. Considering all these factors the performance of the company may be considered below par. However the biggest strength of Qantas is its huge asset base. It is important for the company to ensure that the current asset base is maintained and certain strategic decisions are taken so as to ensure that further effect is not there on the performance of the company and the company is able to sustain. On the other hand Virgin Australia has to ensure that the certain operational changes are made to reduce the expenses that have been mentioned. References Bradshaw K., (2013), Financing your business: choosing between debt and equity, Available At: https://www.royalgazette.com/article/20130319/BUSINESS05/703199999 Charles K. Vandyck, (2006), Financial Ratio Analysis: A Handy Guidebook, Trafford Publishing White G.I., Sondhi A.C. Fried D., (2002), The Analysis and Use of Financial Statements, Wiley; 3 edition Bhattacharya H., (2004), Working Capital Management: Strategies and Techniques Brigham E.F., Ehrhard M.C., (2010), Financial Management: Theory Practice Thompson D.A., (2004), Sources of Business Financing, Available At: https://www.boyneclarke.com/resources/entry/sources-of-business-financing Helfert E.A., (1996), Techniques of Financial Analysis: A Practical Guide to Measuring Business Performance

CSR and Sustainable Development-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthlep.com

Questions: 1.Analyse the Concept and theories of Corporate Social Responsibility and how it relates to Ethical Business Practices. 2.Identify and Describe the principal trends driving Corporate Ethics and Sustainability. 3.Appraise CSR from the perspectives of Stakeholder Interests at a National and International Level. 4.Describe and evaluate the impact that foreign social norms and standards may have on International Business. . 5.Compare and Contrast the legal versus ethical compliance of CSR from the perspectives of various stakeholders, and the impact on the legislative framework surrounding corporate existence. 6.Critically analyse and judge the relationship between ethical branding and Corporate reputation. Answers: Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept that is related to business management, which implores the different ways an organisation operates and says that companies should be incorporating social and environmental concerns within their operational strategies and their interactions with the stakeholders (Crane and Matten 2016). This means that organisations should not limit their functions only to managerial operations, but should also concern themselves about the planet and try to create a sustainable mode of operation so that an overall growth and prosperity can be achieved without harming someone or something in the process. 1.Corporate Social Responsibility and business ethics Business ethics are essentially moral guidelines and a conduct code for business organisations that tries to establish what is right from wrong and requires the organisations to have an operational process based on these guidelines. While most people rely on their own morality and judgmental skills when making a decision, business entities have to consider many more aspects and sides before doing so (Schlierer et al. 2015). In many cases, business owners or the Board has to take decisions that may look to be unethical and this creates a major tension of morality within themselves, for having to deviate from their own ideologies. CSR can be used both as an important component of the business strategy or as a defensive policy, with the latter being more commonly used. Business organisations have to follow a decorum or an operational process that impacts their industry reputation in a good way and ensures that the company is known for their customer interactions and services rather than simply quality of the commodities and the products that they sell. This is a major way which helps organisations to create their brand image in the industry and a loyal customer base (Carroll and Buchholtz 2014). While there are many sellers of the same product or services in the market, strong business ethics helps companies to stay ahead of the competition and ensure the customers are coming back. CSR helps to establish this very sense of ethics in the internal affairs of the organisation so that a basic morale guides the entire operations of the company. CSR also dictates that companies should be maintaining a decorum whereby a sense of ethical practices can be established in all the segments and levels of the organisation, helping it to have a business practice that is ethical in nature (Kolk 2016). In other words, CSR is the companys responsibility to make sure that their operations and other modes of functioning have positive effects on social and environmental wellbeing. In many cases, organisations may be required to go beyond the norms and guidelines that are provided by social organisations, groups or environmental protection groups. 2.Drivers of corporate ethics and sustainability Ethical grounding is often the most important driver of business operations, along with economic self-interest of the company. Ethical grounding provides for the base of the importance of sustainable development and how may that be related to the morality of the organisational processes. In recent times it has been implored that looking after the community, the social and environmental protection is a fundamental thing for organisations and it is essential for the long-term existence of a company in the industry (Capaldi et al. 2015). Across the world, many organisations put more emphasis on the social accountability aspect of running a business and rely heavily on the concepts of citizenship and moral accountability. Increasing amount of focus is being laid on project sustainability along with financial success of a company, making sure that the results that are produced have long term positive effects on the society and the environment. CSR has drastically altered the views that gu ide the business processes and the marked shift has been recorded in terms of the guiding principles (Bowie 2017). Companies should be deciding on their operations that looks at different things that go beyond the simple structure of lowest short-term cost to highest short-term gain. Corporations should take more initiatives to reduce the poverty issues, and this can only be done after poverty is recognised as a major problem in the corporate citizenship field (Schlierer et al. 2015). Poverty reduction and a commitment to protect the environment have beent he two key drivers of organisational operations in the recent years, which have made the organisations to encompass much more than simply running after profits and other traditional marketing norms. 3.CSR from the perspective of stakeholders interests Stakeholders the foundation of any organisation and often the deciding factor of how will the organisation behave in certain situations and also guide the company to prioritise the different operations. CSR is absolutely embedded into the functions and inter-relations among all the stakeholders oft eh company. As business entities are being exposed to new roles and social responsibilities, with sustainable growth and development being the key focus areas, the leadership management of the organisation is also being subjected to newer aspects of running a business (Carroll and Buchholtz 2014). The leading positions of the company is bound to come to contact, and conflict at times, with the stakeholders and CSR plays a pivotal role in this place, which was not recognised before. There are two basic models that try to instruct the organisational leaders on how should they be interacting with the diverse group of stakeholders: the inside-out-approach and a second one that asks the stakeho lders to actively participate in the operations of the organisation itself to bring out the best suited profits according to their own needs. In the era of globalisation, many organisations function in many different countries and they all have to bear in mind the different groups of stakeholders and their respective requirements, also the social and environmental responsibilities that may be facing them in different countries. In case of international stakeholders, many different platforms and entities may get involved in the operational process of the companies. The legal aspects and jurisdiction are the two most important things that need to be adhered to by the organisations when it comes to operating overseas. This means that international laws must be acknowledged and foreign functions need to be conforming to the needs of the foreign stakeholders as well. Domestic and foreign stakeholders mostly have different kinds of needs and necessities and it is the responsibility of organisations to make sure that these requirements are fulfilled. 4.Adhering to foreign social norms and standards International labour laws are of paramount importance and these must be paid close attention by the companies if they wish to operate within the legal framework of any country. The social standards of every country are also different (Lakshman et al. 2014), and organisations must understand that they have to respect and comply with this to be able to function in overseas countries. Without giving paying heed to these may result in adversities which may be difficult to entertain. Social norms and standards often are driving force of the work culture in the country where the organisation is stepping in, and if these are not given any importance, there is a fair chance that the company itself shall not be accepted by the customers of the specific countries. Conflicting ideas and cultural backgrounds must be analyzed and operations have to be changed accordingly. Same issue also lies with the environment. CSR encourages the organisations to be operating within the legal bounds and confor m to the international norms. Environmental needs and responsibilities must be met by the organisation if they wish to be a sustainable organisation which can operate in the industry in the long riun. 5.Compare and contrast the legal versus ethical compliance of CSR from the perspectives of various stakeholders It is often the case that organisations are faced with scenarios that require them to take hard decisions which are tricky in nature. In many cases, ethical and legal grounds seem to clash with each other and it may be very possible for a possible solution to be ethical but not legal or vice versa. These situations have to be handled with the utmost care and CSR can be of help to keep a perfect balance between the two. It must be kept in mind that solutions must ensure that every stakeholder who is involved in the case are benefited. Sustainable development cannot be achieved if even one of the stakeholders are found to be at a worse off condition after the decision is implemented. For example, a heavy engineering plant may be economically beneficial for the development of a community or region, but it may be harmful for the surrounding environment and the ecology. In this case, CSR can be used by the company to reach to a solution that would allow for the company to maintain a balance. CSR would enable the company to operate in an ethical manner that would not harm either the community or the environment of the region. Or in another case, where the possible outcome of a certain situation may be legal but not the desired ethical outcome. CSR helps in these regards to make sure that the solution is both legal and ethical, so that a sustainable development is achieved. 6.Ethical branding and corporate reputation In traditional norms, the brand image of the organisation is created within the industry base on their economic performances and is dictated by holistic marketing rules. However, legal and ethical aspects are missing from this framework, and hence does not make this particular profit driven model an all-encompassing one when it comes to branding of an organisation (Capaldi 2013). The organisation must be both legal and ethical, so that it looks into all aspects of the society and the environment and not merely run after profit margins and better annual reports. Conventional branding methods mostly focus more on products rather than the companies, which needs to be altered, and the ethical side of the organisations must be projected to the customers (Spence 2016). In the modern day, many customers opt for products and services of organisations which they feel runs in accordance to their own beliefs and ideologies. In a market with such customers, it is of paramount necessity for the o rganisations to successfully promote themselves to bring maximum focus upon themselves. Conclusion From the above discussion it can be concluded that CSR of an organisation is primarily driven by the interest of the stakeholders of the company and an urge to meet the ethical requirements that face every institution. CSR is a basic necessity for any company in the modern age where mere production and manufacturing are not the only responsibilities of an organisation and CSR is also one of the key drivers for sustainable growth. CSR is going to be the major driving force for organisational operations in the years to come and this is projected to only keep increasing in the future. References Bowie, N.E., 2017.Business ethics: A Kantian perspective. Cambridge University Press. Capaldi, N. ed., 2013.Encyclopedia of corporate social responsibility(Vol. 21). New York: Springer. Capaldi, N., Schmidpeter, R., Zu, L. and Fifka, M.S., 2015. Dictionary of corporate social responsibility CSR, sustainability, ethics and governance. Carroll, A. and Buchholtz, A., 2014.Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Nelson Education. Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016.Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press. Kolk, A., 2016. The social responsibility of international business: From ethics and the environment to CSR and sustainable development.Journal of World Business,51(1), pp.23-34. Lakshman, C., Ramaswami, A., Alas, R., Kabongo, J.F. and Pandian, J.R., 2014. Ethics trumps culture? A cross-national study of business leader responsibility for downsizing and CSR perceptions.Journal of Business Ethics,125(1), pp.101-119. Schlierer, H.J., Hoivik, H.W., Garriga, E., Signori, S., Rossem, A., Werner, A. and Fassin, Y., 2015. CSR and Related Terms in SME OwnerManagers Mental Models in Six European Countries: National Context Matters. Spence, L.J., 2016. Small business social responsibility: Expanding core CSR theory.Business Society,55(1), pp.23-55.

Prime Minister free essay sample

Second to the Governor General of Canada, the position of the Canadian Prime Minister is the single highest power a public servant can obtain. The residual power that the Governor General holds under the monarchy of Britain gives the Governor General the ultimate and final say in all major matters concerning Canada’s intergovernmental affairs. An example of this is Michelle Jean proroguing the parliament by the request of Steven Harper to delay a potential vote on the motion of non-confidence during 2008-2009 Canadian parliamentary disputes (CBC News, 2008). In a fair democratic process, the Prime Minister has a variety of powers that he or she can enforce while maintaining constant checks and balances within caucus, various opposing political parties and the very influential media. Here in Canada, under the constitutional monarchy of Britain, citizens are fortunate that the Prime Minister often acts rationally with the powers he or she has. Similar to the United States of America, they share the same standards under a democratic state that the Presidential role is held under check by other potential powers to be. We will write a custom essay sample on Prime Minister or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The ultimate right of a Prime Minister is to make the call for a general election; a very important and significant power. One of the most important calls a Canadian Prime Minister can make is to dissolve a government simply by seeking the consent of the Governor General of Canada. More recently with the move toward fixed election dates, the Prime Minister has limitations on his or her ability to call an election when they want; however, under specific and certain anomalies in parliament, this power can still be exercised. Expected requirements are the Prime Ministers right to appoint members to the cabinet, appoint civil servants, judges and senators. The Prime Minister has to keep constant communication with his Members of Parliament with daily/weekly cabinet meetings. This allows for the Prime Minister to stay on top of current and ongoing issues, and execute decisions. While the cabinet is a powerful group in itself, the ministers are responsible for their respective tasks, any poor judgment or efficiency issues can reflect poorly on the Prime Minister and may result in a cabinet shuffle which the Prime Minister can do whenever he or she pleases. In the British North America Act of 1867, section 91 outlines the powers and responsibilities of government, with a significant division of responsibilities between the provincial and federal governments (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2013). An example of this would be: all issues pertaining to national defense are federal matters and all issues applicable to healthcare, for the most part, are provincial matters. This also allows for the Prime Minister to maintain checks and balance with provincial premiers to report to him frequently. The Council of the Federation ensures unity amongst all provinces and territories. All thirteen premiers meet with the Prime Minister to allow issues to be addressed, from health care, economic development to inter provincial trade. While under watch from each of the provinces premiers, they are always keeping the Prime Minister in check. This close monitoring goes both ways; there is most certainly federal pressure on provincial premiers; for example, when Pierre Trudeau implemented the Anti-Inflation Board in 1975 (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2013). This bill froze wages, with the ultimate goal of stopping the high inflation in Canada at the time. This bill ultimately caused finance minister John Turner to resign over the issue. This issue was the result of numerous displeased Canadian citizens, who ensured their Premier was well aware of the anger this caused. This led to Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal government’s collapse, resulting in a Progressive Conservative minority. From Pierre Trudeau’s implementation of the War Measures act in 1970, and Jean Chretien’s refusal to take part in the Iraq war in 2003, are evident examples of the ultimate use of Prime Ministerial powers in Canadian political history. Looking back, these two specific cases were the right decisions; but at the time were extremely controversial because of the non-democratic manner in which they were executed. The Prime Minister can only effectively run a government with the confidence of the House of Commons, and in the past Canadians have seen governments fall before us because of non-confidence within the house. In the case of minority governments, they are often faced with having to â€Å"chew the fat† on certain issues in order for the house to support budgets. Depending on the issue, the Prime Minister will generally educate his party on how to vote on certain bills, which ultimately influences his or her MP’s, is a power in itself. However on some controversial topics such as The Civil Marriage Act in 2005, a bill focused on allowing members of the same sex to get married, Prime Minister Paul Martin permitted his MP’s to vote how they pleased, and p rovided no insight on how they should vote, avoiding the concept of â€Å"towing the party line†. In an ideal setting, for a Prime Minister to efficiently run government without uprising is to have a majority government, as we saw Jean Chretien’s eleven years as Prime Minister go without major backlash. The Canadian Prime Minister finds he or she holding a government which posses all powers for the entire duration of the term. Unlike the United States of Americas system, the government faces midterm elections every two years, and is subjected to a mandatory election every four years, as well as only being able to hold his or her position as Head of State for up to a maximum of eight years. In Canada’s parliamentary system, they show control over elections. Since May 2007, the Canada Elections Act states that a general election is held on a fixed date: â€Å"the third Monday of October in the fourth calendar year following the previous general election† (Canada Elections Act, 2007). Canadians are lucky in the sense that they are constantly able to gather information to what is happening on Parliament hill. Question period is open for the public to see and are alerted about various issues due to the heavy media coverage on Canadian politics. The coverage is so powerful that it keeps the Prime Minister in check by the tough questions and issues he or she is faced with on a regular basis. One major issue that allows the Prime Minister to execute such a high degree of ministerial power is the Cabinets ability to use party discipline to ensure it has its party’s support. MPs of the party are expected to â€Å"tow the party line†, to assist in guaranteeing the will of the PM is carried out. If any elected member of the Prime Ministers’ party were to vote against the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister has the technical executive power to expel the person from party if he or she pleases. As a result of this, the MP will then run as an independent Member of Parliament with limited resources for his or her own work and has no procedural rights to raise any issue in the Parliament. Jean Chretien demanded loyalty from his party and did not hesitate to punish MPs, which were affiliated to the same party they opposed (Granatstein Hillmer, 2000: p. 222). The Prime Minister has too much ministerial power in the sense that he or she is allowed to fire and hire any cabinet member at anytime. A clear example would be Brian Mulroney signing the North American Free Trade Agreement without informing other members of the cabinet (Hillmer Granatstein, 2000:p. 199). Although the Prime Minister does hold this position of power, intraparty politics can often be as intense as party vs. party politics (Samuels Shugart, 2010: p. 95). Party discipline diminishes Canadian democracy to an extent and goes against the ideology of a responsible government (Savoie, 2013; p. 252). The MPs can often find themselves afraid of performing and making motions based on their own personal beliefs because of the consequences the PM will impose on them, ultimately undercutting the abilities of MPs. Some argue to defend the current system that not all MPs disagree with the party leadership. There have been many cases in the political history of Canada where dissent had been voiced behind the doors and have caused policies or government initiatives to be dropped or amended. Compared to the US model, the elected representatives have a greater independence from their political party and results in a rather slow legislative processes. Some argue that if the Prime Minister had more power, he or she would be able to execute polices faster without going through all the procedures in the policy making process. Another major factor that dictates the power of the Prime minister is composition of the House of Commons. A Majority government consists of a minimum of 155 seats. When this is the case, the Prime Minister is able to push agendas without any resistance due to the Prime Ministers power that is derived from the party members of the House. The Prime minister is free to pick and choose any file he or she wants to deal with, giving the sense of a one party-state. Jean Chretien had three majority governments and this shows how serious the political powers are centralized within the Prime Minister and governing party. However under a Minority Government, the Prime Minister must make compromises by passing different pieces of agendas in exchange for confidence. Because of party discipline, the PM concentrates on obtaining support from opposition members to pass his legislations (Bickerton Gagnon, 2009: p. 145). The Members of Parliaments are no longer â€Å"nobodies†, as Trudeau has called them before (Leduc, 2010: p. 132). There is a shift of power from the Prime Minister and Cabinet to the elected members of the House. There are different strategies in which the Prime Minister can deal with a Minority Government. One way was to set up a coalition government of two or more parties to secure a majority of seats in the House. Steven Harpers opposes the idea of a coalition government. He seeks the opposition support for his legislative program and makes adjustments to satisfy other party’s requirements. A minority government maintains checks and balances for the party and Prime Minister in control, ultimately limiting the amount of power he or she has, and ensuring they exercise their power in a reasonable, democratic way. In conclusion, there are many factors that come in to play on whether the Canadian Prime Minister has too much power. In a majority government, the Canadian prime minister can exercise too much power if they feel the need to. They have the majority of the seats in the House of Commons, where they can ultimately manipulate their parties to act in the best interest of the Prime Minister. The prime minister can act irrationally if he or she pleases to do so, despite the implications his or her actions may have. Although, if the Prime Minister exercises too much power in an irrational way, there are things that can be done, by the Governor General in particular, to remove the current Prime Minister from their position. In the case of a minority government, the Prime Minister still has a significant amount of power, but not nearly as much in the case of a majority government. A minority government keeps the Prime Minister and the ruling party in check. The house is made up of a more even balance of MP’s from various parties, ultimately making the Prime Minister work on issues that pertain to both parties; otherwise nearly nothing will get done in Parliament. The reason for this is that the opposition parties will not support the Prime Minister only acting in the best interest of his or her own party, as the opposition holds enough power and voting right to make it so bills get shut down. Many factors reduce the Prime Ministers likelihood of acting irrational and overusing their power, which ultimately keeps them in check. Although they often exercise their power fairly, the Prime Minister in a majority government does hold too much power, and in all cases, they hold too much power over their party members, through mild, indirect coercion. The Prime Minister holds a lot of power, more than he or she should be able to exercise if they please, but this only becomes an issue if they act irrationally using those powers, in which case there is potential they can be forced out of their position ((Samuels Shugart, 2010: p. 96).

Top 5 Hottest Jobs With The Most Potential for 2017

Top 5 Hottest Jobs With The Most Potential for 2017 As the New Year approaches, maybe it’s also time for a new you? Or maybe just a new work you? If you’re looking for a career change, one of these five buzzy jobs could be the one for you. 1. Survey ResearchDid you know that 4 out of 5 survey researchers recommend this career path? If you think you could be the next Nate Silver, then helping companies surf the numbers to find patterns and predict trends might be the right path for you.This is a pretty highly skilled area (you’d likely need a master’s degree and a background in statistics, sociology, and business), but it’s lucrative (it has a $45,050 median salary for 2017) and expected to grow 18 percent by 2022, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Survey says†¦look into it!2. Software App DeveloperOkay, so for every developer who sells an app for $15 million and retires to a condo in Silicon Valley, there are hundreds of developers who have more of an everyday software career. But if you go in this direction, it could be you who comes up with the next Candy Crush.This is definitely a wave-of-the-future career, with more hands needed on deck all the time to create, develop, and maintain software applications. With a Bachelor’s degree and some hands-on coding and programming experience, app developers can make a median salary of $90,000. That’s a lot of Candy Crush boosters, no? Plus, the field is growing like gangbusters: in fewer than 10 years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects 23 percent growth.3. Travel AgentFull disclosure: I wasn’t even aware until recently that travel agents are still a thing. How is this possible, when we do everything over the internet now? Fact is, travel agents have not only adapted to the growing tech and self-service parts of travel, they have positioned themselves as travel ambassadors. You might not walk into a storefront full of fake palm trees anymore and have someone phone the airline to book your ticke t, but a travel agent (often someone who works from home on a freelance basis) can help you navigate for a better deal and manage booking arrangements on your behalf. Travel agents today have an average salary of $56,000- not to mention a suite of sweet travel perks.4. Physician AssistantJobs in the medical sector are always a great bet- as immortal as we may think we are, we all need healthcare at some point. Physicians’ assistants are especially in demand right now, as they’re increasingly used to fill gaps caused by doctor and nurse shortages.These jobs typically require a two-year training program and a certification, and have a median salary of $74,980. The field is expected to grow a whopping 27 percent in 2017.5. Veterinary TechniciansJust before Black Friday, I got an email from a major pet store chain (which shall remain nameless) telling me to shop now for gifts to â€Å"surprise your pet for the holidays.† Pretty much everything surprises my dog, so I can’t say I spent much at that store. However, it showed me how the pet industry has become Serious Business. Someone who tries hard to surprise his cat with the perfect holiday gift is likely also someone who takes good care of said cat, and wants quality veterinary care.If you like animals (even the less cuddly ones) and are willing to take a 1-2 year training program, you could be the one providing that care. The median salary for vet techs is $27,750, but what it lacks in gold watches, it more than makes up for in puppy cuddles. Or snake cuddles. Whatever floats your boat. Either way, it’s a solid career path with lots of growth potential (41% projected by 2022).Whether you jump right into a new career or take a few classes to get started, 2017 could be a major turning point for your professional life. Think outside the resume, and you might find the exact right opportunity for yourself.

Conducting training sessions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conducting training sessions - Essay Example Task D (printing of handout copies), will only commence after training materials (task B) shall have been developed, hence it depends on task B. At the same time, task E (developing PowerPoint slides) also depends on task B, hence, will only commence after task B is completed. However, task D and E are concurrent since they can take place or commence at the same time. After developing PowerPoint slides (task D), one can go ahead to conduct a practice training session (task F). However, task F cannot be carried out before task D, hence task F is dependent on task D. Lastly, to conduct user training sessions (task G), task C (confirming of arrangement of training facility), task D (printing of handout copies) and task F (conducting practice training sessions) must have been completed. It means therefore that, task G is dependent on task C, task D and task F. The critical path therefore is when the project comes from task A to C to G. this is the longest path that the project can take to a successful completion. It will take a total of 15 days for the training session to come from the start all through to completion. However, the project can take other alternative shorter routes like go through rout 1 and 2 above which take 11 days and 13 days

Staffing policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Staffing policies - Essay Example Contents Abstract †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..2 Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Objectives †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Staffing Policies in the Royal Dutch Shell plc†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 International Expansion and the Staffing Approaches†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5 E.P.R.G. Concept†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....8 Appendix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...9 Reference List†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..10 Executive Summary The staffing policies, applied by the most MNEs, generally depend on the key business strategies followed by the companies. Considering the research by Howard Perlmutter, the choice among ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric staffing strategies can be stipulated by the company’s marketing orientation. Therefore, the key aim of the report is to review pieces of research that reference Perlmutter’s concept and analyze the scientific value, as well as the correctness of the concept itself. Introduction The staffing policies and principles applied by the international corporations are generally featured with the E.P.R.G. approach, which is developed and theorized by Howard V. Perlmutter. In fact, most multinational companies have to be multicultural and rely on the experience, knowledge, and culture of their foreign employees in order to operate successfully overseas. Therefore, in accordance with the research by Perlmutter, the choice among ethnocentric, polycentric, or geocentric approaches in staffing practices depends on the aims and plans of the company. Objectives 1. Review academic articles and research referencing H. Perlmutter’s E.P.R.G. concept. 2. Define the weaknesses and strengths of the concept and whether the other researchers agree or disagree with it. Staffing Policies in the Royal Dutch Shell plc Royal Dutch Shell plc is known for its ethnocentric approach for staffing. In accordance with the rules of the corporate policy, most financial officers working for Shell are the Dutch citizens. The key reasons of this strictness are associated with the high qualification of these experts and considerable lack of highly experienced and qualified managers in the countries where the company operates. The other reasons are: Inability (and, sometimes, unwillingness) to follow the corporate culture rules; Tight control, which causes amplified stress on the managers. Most executives can not bear such a high pressure; Ethnocentric approach is a part of the company’s corporate culture. The changes in this approach will require deep changes in the entire HRM policy while the company is facing issues that are more challenging now. However, it should be emphasized that technical personnel (engineers, technicians, exploration personnel) can be from other countries. The company had to consider the fact that German, Russian, Brazilian, and Arabic drilling and exploration engineers are of the same qualification level as the Dutch experts. International Expansion and the Staffing Approaches In fact, polycentrism and geocentrism in recruiting policies take place when the company is extending its operations to the overseas markets. In accordance wi