Thursday, October 31, 2019

Answer questions from uploaded information Essay

Answer questions from uploaded information - Essay Example The theoretical knowledge and value system gained through different stages of growth would assist in explicitly setting our personal and professional goals and provide the needed strategies towards their fulfillment. The current discourse provides one with the opportunity to examine one’s values and priorities; as well as the value system that apparently leads to manifested attitudes toward work and personal life. The following questions would hereby be responded to, as needed: 1. Do I look forward to being at work every morning? Most mornings? An examination of one’s work actually reveals that one does not look forward to being at work every morning; nor in most mornings, at that. This could be a clear indication that one does not find fulfillment in the endeavor being pursued. With this kind of attitude, there is a potential impact on productivity at work. As such, this could be contrarious to Oosting’s assertion in his discourse on â€Å"Productivity In Your Work† which emphasizes that one needs to focus on being productive in work since â€Å"that must be your goal, every day, all year, and every year. Anything less is letting down God, your family and your employer† (n.d., par. 8). ... This is consistent with the theory proposed by Frederick Taylor who stated that â€Å"workers were motivated primarily by money, so he also developed the idea that workers should be paid based on whether they reached production targets† (Magloff, 2013, par. 3). 3. When I think of work, what is the most negative thing that comes to mind? The most negative thing that comes to mind when I think of work is being treated unfairly. I strongly feel that my colleagues do not care about me. It was revealed by Wright (1990) that â€Å"most of our difficulties in life occur because of other people†¦Most people would really want to get along with those around them† (p. 9). By perceiving indifference, prejudice, lack of support and care, I feel isolated and lonely. 4. Are my attitudes likely to change during the next twelve to twenty-four months? If so, why is that? My attitudes could possibly change during the next twelve to twenty-four months, if I take this course into consi deration and pray about it. I could still be at that point in life where one’s personal and professional goals are not clearly and accurately established; since these are not in conjunction with God’s purpose for me in life. As asserted by Douglass (1978), â€Å"instead of seeking God's specific direction for these and other courses of action, many people tend to proceed through life without much prayer or thought and, therefore, without God's integrating purpose† (p. 1). Thus, with the assistance of the lessons learned and still to be imbibed in the course, one could be guided to discern God’s purpose for me and to assist in changing my attitudes, value system, priorities, and personal, as well as professional goals. 5. Do I like myself?

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The legal and ethical issues surrounding Solyndra Essay

The legal and ethical issues surrounding Solyndra - Essay Example Businesses and organisations must look at the legal issues surrounding their operations. Failing to do this will most likely land the firm in a situation where they have to deal with law suits which may lead to the firm closing its doors from the public (Shaw, 2007). Legal issues as well as ethical issues must especially be considered in a very careful way in cases where public funding is concerned. Failing to do this can lead to inquiries which may lead to criminal prosecution in court. Yet, there are so many firms today which ignore these issues. A good example is Solyndra which died only about five years after its founding. The Solyndra Scandal The Solyndra scandal raises a number of both legal and ethical issues. Scandal like this cost the tax payers hundreds of millions and sometimes billions of dollars. One of the ethical issues which arises from the Solyndra case is the fact that the involved officials were aware of the big financial risk but continued with the project anyway (Leonnig & Stephens, n.d.). According to emails retrieved from correspondence between the Solyndra officials and the White House officials who were aiding in the acquisition of the loan, it was clear that there was little chance of the project breaking even and succeeding and the officials knew it. According to investigation done by the FBI, there were a number of issues which indicated that the officers involved were engaging in unethical or illegal affairs. White House Aide is actually revealed to have warned officials not to have any official communication through their personal email accounts as this would make the personal email accounts to be subpoenaed in case of a legal enquiry (Leonnig & Stephens, n.d.). This was one indicator that the officials, even prior to the over $500 million loan, already knew that things were not working out for Solyndra and that sooner than later it would have to collapse. Why officials of such high ranks would engage in such casino-like transactio ns with public funds in case a case of official negligence and abuse of power and office. While there may not be a directly illegal issue with the aide telling the officers to watch the way they communicate because they could be subpoenaed, it does show that these people were operating way outside the ethical thresholds. The actions of the Department of Energy also show a number of ethical issues. For instance as Stephens, Leonnig and Leonnig (2011) say, the DOE failed to warn the state house about the failing of Solyndra. In fact as the firm continued to fade and sink into its own operating costs, the DOE failed to pull the plug and instead additional funds were given to a failing firm even when it was very clear that the firm was failing drastically. Legal issues To understand the legal issues surrounding the Solyndra case scandal, it is important to revisit how the scandal unfolded. First, Solyndra had managed to secure conditional loan from the government in line with the depart ment of energy regulations. The loan failed to work and this is where the firm sought to get another loan in order to make up for the fact that the first loan did not help the firms to be able to get on its feet. However, due to the risk issues surrounding the restructuring of the loan, the loan restructuring would have to get approval by the justice department. In other words, Solyndra would have to get clearance from the department of

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Training for employees and organizations

Training for employees and organizations Training is the process of learning that involves knowledge acquisition, sharpening of skills, concepts; it changes the attitudes and behavior of employees towards work and hence enhances the performance of employees which ultimately leads to high productivity and quality performance of the organizations. The concept of training and development changed a lot during 1990s and 2000s, contributing to high employees performance and meeting organizations goal. As training involves designing and supporting learning activities to achieve certain level of performance where as development refers to the long term growth and learning, focusing the attention on what the employees may need to know or do at some future time. The focus of training is on currents job, tasks and responsibilities where as development refers to future job development (David, 1999). In this context training and development is important for the organizations that aim to have a competitive advantage, high productivity and qulality performance through highly skilled, trained and flexible workforce. As the skilled and trained employees can increase productivety by performing higher level of work with grater value and efficiency. Similarly the skilled and trained workforce can improve an organizations operative flexibility due to their broad knowledge of multi skills. This helps the management to introduce new technology and change production methods. As it is correctly stated that in the current competive climate efficient production even of technically unsophisticated products benefits from technically advanced machinery operated by a workforce with a high level of skills Another important aspect of training and development is that it leads to job satisfaction, employee commitment and motivation as emplyees should be considered as valued assest, a source of competitive advantage through their commitment, adaptability and quality of skills and performance (Juliana S,2004). 2.Purpose Of Training and Development For Employees: For employees training is one of the most important strategy to gain proper knowledge and skills needed to meet the environmental challenges. Employee training and development cannot be just attained by attending seminars and learning about the latest equipment, it requies proper planing to create a nurturing, supportive workplace, where the employees can gain at the maximum and can know about the latest techniques and methds to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing technology and business processes. Well trained, qualified employees are an asset for the orgnaization as they contribute in determining long term profitability of the business trhrough their skills. As training is not just for new employees on job and continuous training and development is necessary for individual and organizational performance. The purpose of traning and development should be to encourage creativity, inventiveness and shape the organizational knowledge so that the employees can differentiate their company from others and make it unique. It is a fact that none of the organizations can hire people with all the expertise and knowlelge of business processes required for carrying out various functions, it is the systematic process of trainig and development of personel that contributes to the attainment of organizational goals and challenges (Jelena VemiĆ¡, 2007). According to American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) president and Chief Executive Officer, business is investing more in training and development than ever before. According to ASTD 1996 companies have realized that a well trained workforce leads to competitiveness. The greater the organizations want excellence the more imminent the employees training becomes. In the organizations where information is not propagated through training and development lead to little or no performance. (Isiaka Sulu Babaita, 2010). The results of significant training and development have moved average performers to efficient performers as the following diagram shows: Source: (Mike Sondalini 2007) Reasons for emphasizing training and development programs for personnel in todays business world includes: To readily create a pool for available and adequate replacement of personnel who may be leaving or moving up in the organization. To help improve the companys ability to adopt new and advanced technology because of highly knowledgeable and trained staff. Training and deveolpent programs contributes to a more efficient, effective and highly motivated team, which enhances the companys competitive position and improves employee morale. Training and development programs motivates employees to develop a greater sense of self-worth, dignity and well-being. It ensures adequate human resources for expansion into new programs. Training and development help employees to learn how to use the resources in an approved fashion that allows the organization to reach its desired output. More over the purpose of employee training and development should not only be attainment of new knowledge, abilities and skills but it should be ensured this program develops entrepreneurship, encourages employees to adapt to new changes according to their attitudes and they should be involved in the process of decision making so that they can contribute more to the organizations in the most effective way (Jelena VemiĆ¡, 2007) 3.Purpose Of Trainig and development For Organization: According to Cascio (1989) training and development is a package consisting of planned programs designed to enhance performance at the individual, group and at organizational levels. The process of training and development in any organization is aimed at solving significant problems, proper analysis of its contribution to the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization and an aid in adjusting to work environment that can increase the capacity of individual or group in contributing to the attainment of the organizational goals (Isiaka Sulu Babaita, 2010). Training and development programs in an organization lead to increased productivity, it reduces the employee turnover, and it enhances the employees efficiency resulting in financial gains. The figure shows how training and development programs are interlinked with the business environment, changes and challenges, the learning process and ultimately resulting in business excellence. (Source:http://traininganddevelopment.naukrihub.com/training.html ) According to Daniel (2003) training should not be taken as a luxury or a remedy to train weak employees, it should not act as a group of physicians who minister organizational ills, but it should act as an agent of change. Further the training unit should understand the strategic directions of the organization and its core functions and design and implement the training session accordingly and should move the employees in direction incompliance with its core values. In the current scenario the organizations have realized the importance of training and development and shifted their thinking accordingly. It is evident to the organizations that training is where skills are developed; attitudes of employees towards are changed, ideas are evolved and organizations are reinvented. Training and learning new skills will increase the sales build effective and efficient team, improve the quality, standards of work and meet a broader range of objectives hence creates a new organizational cultur e. Training and development has grown its concerns not only to help individuals to improve their skills, enhance their knowledge, but also helps whole organizations and sub departments grow and develop (Isiaka Sulu Babaita, 2010) 4.Companies Using Training And Develpoment Program: 4.1 Siemens Siemens is one of the leading technology business and one of the largest electrical and electronics engineering companies in the world. Siemens understands the fact that for a business to be competitive, it is important that it has the right number of people with the right skills in the right jobs. For this purpose it carries on work force planning that enables it to audit its employees, their skills and identifies the areas where their is a skills gap necessary for its objectives. As Siemens has a business focused on innovation therefore it needs to anticipate and respond rapidly to external business environment such as climatic change. To tackle with the climatic changes and other internal business changes Siemens either recruit new employees with the required skills or train the existing employees to develop their skills in order to fulfill their business demands. Siemens train their employees either by providing on job training or by off job training. Further siemens has three ma in development programs for the entry level people who start their careers with siemens, who are benefited from the training and educational programs to enhance their skills required by the company. These programs are: Apprenticeships Siemens Commercial Academy Siemens Graduate Programmes An appraisal system named as Performance management Process is used by Siemens to measure the effectiveness of its training and development program, this process helps to focus everyone on the developing needs of the business. There are several benefits for Siemens in using appraisal. It can Ensure that all training is being used well and for the best interests of the company Keep all staff up-to-date in a fast changing business Make sure that staff is well motivate Get feedback from staff on changes Make sure staff is involved in changes. Siemens needs motivated and well trained staff that have up to date skills in order to be competitive, as it understands the fact that well trained staff is an asset to the company therefore provides its staff with a learning environment where they not only enhance their knowledge but also sharp their skills. (http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-studytraining-development-strategy-for-growth89-335-1.php) 4.2Case study Of Nestle: Nestlà © is today the worlds leading food company, with a 135-year history and operations in virtually every country in the world. The most important parts of Nestlà ©s business strategy and culture are the development of human capacity in each country where they operate. Learning is an integral part of Nestlà ©s culture. The policy deals with recruitment, remuneration and training and development and emphasizes individual responsibility, strong leadership and a commitment to life-long learning. Nestlà ©s principle is that each employee should have the opportunity to develop to the maximum of his or her potential. As it pays off in the long run in their business results, and that sustainable long-term relationships with highly competent people and with the communities where they operate enhance their ability to make consistent profits. It is important to give people the opportunities for life-long learning as at Nestle that all employees are called upon to upgrade their skills in a fast-changing world. 4.2. Training Programs at Nestlà ©: Nestle provide different training programmes to train its staff to be benefited of their skills and abilities. Therefore the willingness to learn is an essential condition to be a part of Nestlà ©. The employees are given on job training. It is the responsibility of the concerned manager to guide and coach the trainees and ensure the staff makes progress in his/ her position. Literacy Training Most of Nestlà ©s people development programs assume a good basic education on the part of employees therefore the company provides the employees the opportunity to upgrade their essential literacy skills. A number of Nestlà © companies have therefore set up special programs for those who missed a large part of their elementary schooling. Nestlà © Apprenticeship Program Apprenticeship programs have been an essential part of Nestlà © training where the young trainees spent three days a week at work and two at school. Local Training As two-thirds of Nestlà ©s employee work in factories therefore they are being trained on the continuous basis to meet the business needs. Further a number of nestle operating companies run their own residential training centers. Local training is the largest component of Nestle and nearly 240000 employees get training every year. It is the responsibility of the manager to provide appropriate and continuous training to the employees, for this reason the managers are also provided training to enhance their coaching skills. (http://www.mbaknol.com/management-case-studies/case-study-of-nestle-training-and-development/) 5.Training Methods The methods chosen to train the employees should motivate the employees to learn, help them retain and transfer what they have learned and enhance performance with other skills and knowledge. There are two broad types of training which most of the organizations adopt to train their new and existing employees: On the job training Off the job training On job trainnig program is for the emplyees who perform their jobs regularly. Its a time saving technique as the employees are in the process of learning while they are on job. In this type of trainig a plan is developed about what should be the employees taught, to involve the emplyees to participate actively they should be in formed about the details, in short a plan layout should be communicated. Futher the on job techniques include orientations, job instruction training, apprenticeships, internships and assistantships, job rotation and coaching. Off-the-job training is the employee training at a site away from the actual work environment.this technique includes lectures, special study, films, television conferences or discussions, case studies, role playing, simulation, programmed instruction and laboratory training. (http://www.zeromillion.com/business/personnel/employee-training.html) 6.Training Evaluation Training evalution is the proces of evaluating the training program and should be an integral part of the training program as it checks whether the desired results are achieved or not. And ensures wheether the employees are able to immplment their learning to the work place or not . 6.1.Purposes of Training Evaluation The five main purposes of training evaluation are: It helps in giving feedback to the emplyees defining the objectives and linking to learning outcomesof the training program It helps to ascertain the relationship between acquired knowledge, transfer of knowledge at the work place, and training. It helps to control and alter training program because if the training is not effective, then it can be dealt with accordingly. It helps to determine that whether the actual outcomes are aligned with the expected results of the trainig. source:http://traininganddevelopment.naukrihub.com/training-evaluation.html 7.Conclusion: It can be concluded that trainig and development programs are essential for all type of organizations and for all employees, as it enhances the skills and knowledge of the employees which ultimately results in high performance and increases organizations productivity. There major outcomes of training and development programs are that the emplyees who are trained requires lesser super vission than the employee who is yet qualified but not trained. Training is a source of increasing employees confidence in carying out any task with efficiecy and more accurcy. Similarly the orgnaizations which invest in their employees tend to have more productivity and have lower employee turnover. Although training costs money and time but ultimately it benefits the organizations with highly skilled workforce and high performance leading to high profits.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Essay on Tom in The Glass Menagerie -- Glass Menagerie essays

The Character of Tom in The Glass Menagerie    Tom Wingfield has a dual role in The Glass Menagerie. The first Tom is the narrator, who introduces his second self, the character. In his fifth soliloquy, Tom the narrator indicates that time has detached him from the drama, "for time is the longest distance between two places" (Williams 1568). In the closing soliloquy Tom recounts how he lives and re-lives the story in his memory, though he is detached from the participants in the original affair. Like his father, "a telephone man who fell in love with long distances," (Williams 1523), Tom has fallen in love with the long distance that is time.    Tom is a sensitive, artistic man who is forced by circumstances into a phenomenological situation. He is compelled to live and re-live the situation of the play, in which he sought for and found what he believed to be freedom. Although he escapes the situation, he does not find freedom; his consciousness forces him to dwell upon the situation until he finds meaning in it. Because Mr. Wingfield, Laura, Amanda, and Jim are parts of ...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Federal Income Tax Formula

FEDERAL INCOME TAX FORMULA Gross Income – Above the Line Deductions____ Adjusted Gross Income – Itemized or Standard Deduction – Exemptions_________________ Taxable Income x Applicable Marginal Tax Rates for Each Bracket Tax Liability – Tax Credits_________________ = TAX OWED ABRIDGED INCOME TAX ACCOUNTING I. Gross Income [ § 61] — A. Wages, Salaries, and Tips B. Interest Income C. Dividend Income D. Other (Net) Income—Reduced by Deductible Expenses 1. State & Local Income Tax Refunds 2. Alimony Received 3. Business Income or Loss 4. Capital Gains or Losses 5. Taxable IRA Distributions, Pensions, & Annuities . Rents, Royalties, Partnerships, S-Corporations, Estates, Trusts 7. Unemployment Compensation & Social Security 8. Other Income II. Less â€Å"Above the Line† Deductions— A. Unreimbursed Qualified Moving Expenses B.? of Self-Employment Tax C. Self-employed Health Insurance Deduction D. IRA Deduction E. Payments to Keogh R etirement Plan F. Penalty on Early Withdrawal of Savings G. Student Loan Interest Deduction H. Alimony Paid I. Tuition and Fees Deduction J. Depreciation Deduction ———————————————————-â€Å"The Line† = Adjusted Gross Income (â€Å"AGI†) III.Less the Greater of (1) Itemized Deductions or (2) the Standardized Deductions— A. Itemized Deductions: 1. Medical and Dental 2. State Taxes 3. Interest Expense on Qualified Mortgage Indebtedness 4. Casualty & Theft Losses 5. Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions i)Misc. Deductions Subject to 2% AGI Floor ii)Misc. Deductions Exempt from 2% AGI Floor B. Standard Deduction [ § 63] IV. Less Exemptions = Taxable Income V. Tax Liability = Taxable Income x Applicable Marginal Tax Rates VI. Less Tax Credits A. Historical Building Rehabilitation B. Renewable Energy C. Work Opportunity Tax Credit D. Qualif ying Child Tax Credit = TAX OWED

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Career College vs. Community College Essay

After schooling a student may have a number of options. A number of colleges have come up that can meet up the various requirements of the students. The new era students are having now expanded demands and desires for their career and future. So, to meet their needs the various colleges are also coming up in the help of the students. What is a Career college? Career Colleges are the new day colleges. They are the modern colleges that have provided the modern students a new scope in the various fields. They are not the general colleges of doing bachelor degree and master’s degree in general streams. They have specialist subjects that offer professional training to the students. These days the mentality of the students and also the parents has changed drastically. In previous days parents and students had only some of the limited choices such as medical, engineering and government services. But now a number of choices have come as add on to this career option. The varieties of career options now available are the hotel management course for services in various hotels, restaurants and clubs, management degrees for various corporate offerings and much more. Now a time has come when a person can even convert his or her hobbies to a study. This has only led to a vast number of diverse courses such as art, aviation, animation, web designing, linguistics and many more. Both bachelors and masters degrees are provided by these colleges. Even other types of degrees are also provided from here. What is a community college? Apart from choice, students have also got colleges that offer them studies as per the comfort zone of the students. There can be a number of students who have problem of joining and regularly attending a college. There can also be students who are not that financially strong and are not able to afford the cost of the career colleges. In these circumstances there are a number of colleges that support the students in all areas. These are the Community college. These days the community colleges are becoming great options for many of the students. These colleges are flexible in their cost, time and  methods. They provide all types of courses from full time to part time, from 3 year courses for 6 months courses, all depending upon the candidate’s capability and need. The pros and cons As everything has its own pros and cons so does the colleges also. Both the colleges, Career College and the Community College have their own pros and cons. The career college is the most sophisticated academic center. They are the most professional and properly handled colleges that provide the most technical and professional training to its students. On the other hand Community Colleges serve the most cost efficient and time efficient academics. The fees of these countries are lesser than the career colleges and have time flexibility for the students to attend the classes as per their requirement and need.