Biology Interpretation Essays - Design Of Experiments,

Biology: Interpretation Interpretation Statistical calculations made with the results obtained, conclude the null hypothesis previously made, is acceptable and there is in fact a relationship between percentage epiphyte cover and height from the ground. However, when studying the tables of results it is difficult to find a pattern in results obtained. This may be an indication that any relationship found may have been down to chance. This is also evident through the relatively large standard error figure calculated. As a result I believe that the data is not an accurate measure of the biological phenomenon and in a repeat experiment it would be suggested that more results were taken to reduce any margins for both statistical and human error. In this instance it would be much easier to find a trend in results and so, a more accurate interpretation could take place. Animal Science

Presidential Candidates and the Death Penalty

Presidential Candidates and the Death Penalty Unlike past presidential elections, national interest in the candidates positions on the death penalty has waned, partly due to a decline in the number of states that no longer allow capital punishment. Furthermore, the rate of violent crimes in the United States has steadily decreased for 20 years, that is, until 2015 when, according to the FBI, the incidences of violent crime rose to 1.7 percent which included a 6 percent increase in homicides. History has shown that when the crime numbers are up, more people are pro-death penalty and interest in the position political candidates take on the issue becomes more important to voters. Lessons Learned A good example of rising crime statistics determining voter interest in the death penalty was the 1988 presidential election between Michael Dukakis and George H. W. Bush.  The national murder rate was averaging around 8.4 percent and 76 percent of Americans were for the death penalty, the second highest number since recording began in 1936. Dukakis was portrayed as being too liberal and soft on crime. He received a fair amount of criticism because he was opposed to the death penalty. An incident that many believe sealed his fate as losing the election occurred during an October 13, 1988, debate between Dukakis and Bush. When the moderator, Bernard Shaw, asked Dukakis if he would be in favor of the death penalty if his wife were raped and murdered, Dukakis replied that he would not favor it and reiterated that he was opposed to the death penalty all of his life. The general consensus was that his answer was cold and his national poll numbers plummeted the very night of the debate. Despite the fact that the majority in the U.S. is still in favor of the death penalty, opposition to state executions is rising: at 38 percent opposing the ultimate penalty for a crime, this is the highest level of opposition to capital punishment. Where do todays presidential candidates stand on the death penalty in the face of rising opposition against it? The  Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994   The  Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It was the largest crime bill in U.S. history. Along with adding major funding for  100,000 new police officers, it also banned the manufacture of many semi-automatic firearms and expanded the federal death penalty.   It has been said in retrospect, that the bill was also responsible for the large increase in African American and Hispanic incarceration. As the first  lady, Hillary Clinton was a strong advocate of the  bill and lobbied for it in Congress. She has since spoken out against part of it, saying that it is time to revisit it. While in the House, Bernie Sanders also voted in favor of the bill, but he originally supported a revised bill that abolished the federal death penalty in exchange for life sentences. When the revised bill was rejected, Sanders voted for the final bill that included the expansion of the federal death penalty. Spokespersons for Sanders have said that his support was due largely to the Violence Against Women Act and assault weapons ban.   Hillary Clinton Supports the Death Penalty (But Struggles With It) Hillary Clinton has taken a more cautious stand than Sanders. During the same February MSNBC debate, Clinton said that she was concerned about how the death penalty is handled on a state level and that she has a lot more confidence in the federal system. â€Å"For very limited, particularly heinous crimes, I believe it is an appropriate punishment, but I deeply disagree with the way that too many states are still implementing it,† Clinton said. Clinton was also confronted with questions about her views on the death penalty during a CNN-hosted Democratic town hall on March 14, 2016. Ricky Jackson, an Ohio man who spent 39 years in prison and came â€Å"perilously close† to being executed, and who was later found to be innocent, was emotional when he asked Clinton, In light of what Ive just shared with you and in light of the fact that there are undocumented cases of innocent people who have been executed in our country. I would like to know how you can still take your stance on the death penalty. Clinton again voiced her concerns, saying, The states have proven themselves incapable of carrying out fair trials that give any defendant all the rights that defendants should have... She also said she would breathe a sigh of relief if State Supreme Courts eliminated the death penalty. She then added that she still supported it in rare cases on a federal level for terrorist and mass murderers. â€Å"If it were possible to separate the federal from the state system by the Supreme Court,† Clinton added, confusingly, â€Å"that would, I think, be an appropriate outcome,† a statement some critics referred to as back peddling.   Donald Trump Supports the Death Penalty (and Would Likely Inject the Needle)    On December 10, 2015, Donald Trump announced to several hundred police union members in Milford, New Hampshire, that one of the first things he would do as president would be to sign a statement that anybody that kills a police officer would get the death penalty. He made the announcement after he accepted the endorsement of the New England Police Benevolent Association. One of the first things I would do, in terms of making an executive order if I win, would be to sign a strong, strong statement that will go out to the country- out to the world- that anybody killing a policeman, policewoman, a police officer- anybody killing a police officer, the death penalty. Its going to happen, OK? We can’t let this go. In  1989,  Trump  earned his pro-death penalty status after taking out a full-page ad in four New York City newspapers titled, BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY! BRING BACK THE POLICE! It was assumed that his actions were in reference to the May 1989 brutal rape of a woman who was jogging in Central Park, although he never made reference to the attack. Known as the case of the Central Park Five, the sentences of the  five males convicted of the rape were later vacated after serial rapist and murderer, Matias Reyes, confessed to the crime. The DNA evidence was reexamined and matched Reyes and it was the only semen found on the victim. In 2014,  the Central Park Five settled a civil case with the city for $41 million dollars. It has also been said that Trump was furious about it.

Article Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Article Review - Research Paper Example The research question of this study is: What do current advances in genetic research say about the genetic causes of intellectual disability and autism, and what are some of the effective tools of diagnosing intellectual disability and autism? This paper reviews this article through describing its research design and findings, as well as identifying flaws and relevance of the study in society and understanding human development. This study did not explain its research design, and it does not specifically ascertain whether it is a systematic review or meta-analysis. After reading the article, it is inferred that it is a basic review of existing studies on the genome of autism and intellectual disabilities. The sampling of articles came from respected journals. It is possible that Feero et al. (2012) conducted the study using peer-reviewed journal databases and it reached its findings using relevant themes and recurring outcomes. The research findings of this article explained the pote ntial genetic causes of intellectual disability. The article explained copy-number changes, deletions, and duplications. A copy-number change refers to the deletion or duplication of an elongation of DNA as compared with the reference human genome. Feero et al. (2012) used research that stressed that some patients with syndromic kinds of intellectual disability showed deletions in the same chromosomal region, where normal cohorts would have a different number or set of chromosomes. These researchers stressed the identification of specific copy-number changes in affected patients, when compared with control subjects, where they showed that novel microdeletion and microduplication syndromes were connected with intellectual disability and autism. For three studies that this article used, they determined that heterozygous deletions of 17q21.31 were connected with moderate-to-severe intellectual disability, hypotonia, facial dysmorphic features, occasional cardiac and renal abnormalities , and seizures. These deletions were not present in healthy control subjects. This article also noted that deletions of 16p11.2 were present in around 1% of those with autism spectrum disorders, but these deletions were also related with intellectual disability with no autistic features. Feero et al. (2012) recommended physicians to conduct chromosome microarray analysis and not the usual standard karyotype analysis, when conducting early diagnostic workup of children with developmental delays and intellectual disability. Feero et al. (2012) also showed that there is a significant overlap among the copy-number changes that have been determined for intellectual disorders. Studies showed microdeletions of 15q13.3 that are related to intellectual disability, autism, and schizophrenia. Moreover, microdeletions of 1q21 are connected with autism, schizophrenia, and epilepsy and, most frequently, with intellectual disability. This article also noted studies that analyzed genes on the X chr omosome, partially because X-linked forms of intellectual disability can be passed on through unaffected females in families, permitting pedigree analysis. Moreover, mutations in PTEN are linked with autism and macrocephaly in some patients and mutations in SHANK3 have also been determined. Feero et al. (2012) highlighted the importance of sequencing of the protein-coding parts

A contemporary artist Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A contemporary artist - Research Paper Example The artist (say, Pablo Picasso) was born in the year 1881, in Spain. Victoria Charles states that, â€Å"Malaga must be mentioned, for it was there, on 25 October 1881, that Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born and there that he spent the first ten years of his life† (10). His father was a painter by profession. During his childhood, the artist was deeply interested in art, especially painting. Besides, his father helped him to have basic lessons in painting. Later in 1891 and 1895, the artist’s family was forced to move to A Coruna and Barcelona from Malaga. So, these incidents deeply influenced the artist because he was able to enroll himself as a student at School of Fine Arts and Royal Academy of San Fernando. Besides, his career as an artist is divided as Blue and Rose Periods, and Analytic Cubism. His artistic creativity was not limited to the context of painting, but extends to other fields like printmaking, stage designing, poetry etc. In addition, the artwork (see appen dix-1) named as The Old Guitarist (1903-04) is symbolic of the influence of the unique artistic style named as Expressionism in him. Ashley Bassie opines that, â€Å"A potent aspect of Expressionism was the conviction, held by its creators, that their endeavours were carrying art into a wholly new realm of experience† (51). One can see that this artistic style totally neglects objective reality in art, but is related to certain unique ideas. In addition, the artwork’s subject is the amalgamation of human emotionality with reality.

Analysis of Business Planning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Analysis of Business Planning - Research Paper Example Business plans have both weak and strong components that are unique to respective plans and businesses.     The plan focuses on a beauty and hair salon called Trend Setters Hair Studio. It begins by presenting an executive summary of the salon business. The mission and motto of the salon are equally mentioned (B Plan, 2012). After the introduction, the plan provides essential keys to the successes of the salon business. A summary of the company that includes a summary of how the company began operations is present in the summary. The business plan on Trend Setters Hair Studio later reveals the products and services within the business. These include hair (weaves, and relaxers), nails (manicured and sculptures) and skin care (waxing and massages). The plan also offers a summary of the strategy and implementation of diverse strategies of the company. This aspect of the plan mentions the approaches that management should take to address the problems that may arise from competitors. The management of the salon equally presents figures for their projected sales in the next three years (Becherer & Helms, 2009). The business plan presents milestones of the salon business that includes details of salon activities.      For example, necessary finances in the running of the salon business are mentioned. The projected cash flow in the salon business is equally presented in the plan. Finally, the plan has an appendix that explains most of the figures in the business plan (Bangs, 2002). Brian's Book Barn Business Plan This plan focuses on a book barn business that dates from May 1998. The plan begins by describing the business in a clear manner. It states that the business is a store that deals with books and magazines (Canada / British Columbia Business Services Society, ND). It is located in Ladbrokes and aims to promote the culture of reading to members of this community. The plan also suggests that the community where such an organization is situated lacks such a business. This means that the business is likely to flourish because of minimal competition. The plan reveals the ownership and management of the book business. The owners are a couple, Brian Paige and Novella Reid. According to the plan, B rian has relevant experience because he previously worked with bookselling organizations. His wife has a certificate in retail management with 30 years of experience (Canada / British Columbia Business Services Society, ND). The initiatives and objectives of the business are also evident in the plan.  Ã‚  

Leadership At Berkshire Hathaway And General Electric Commerce Essay

Leadership At Berkshire Hathaway And General Electric Commerce Essay Since, the researchers interest was the effects of diversification on two American Conglomerates (Berkshire Hathaway and General Electric). First, its important to look at why the researcher has chosen these two companies. Both companies have a wide range and diversity of product portfolios which are of particular interest. Following earlier research (Natter, Mild, Feurstein, Dorffner, Taudes, 2001; Krishnan Ulrich, 2001) the paper intends to narrow down area of focus to Berkshire Hathaway Inc and general Electric. Both companies are going against the trend of diversification, starting from the last decade the trend has been becoming less popular, but both corporations are still diversifying their business lines. Berkshire Hathaway currently has 80 businesses and one of the reasons for the companys success might be strong management, the CEO, Warren Buffett is a core resource for Berkshire Hathaway, he is known for buying excellent businesses at a price that make business sense. On the other hand, with so many businesses, diversification strategies might help companies in spreading market risks: adding products to the exiting lines of business can be viewed as analogous to an investor who invests in multiple stocks to spread the risks. Diversification into other lines of business can especially make sense when the core product market is uncertain, which is the case for Berkshire Hathaway and General Electric. 4.2. 2 Reasons for their success (Berkshire Hathaway and General Electric) In order to achieve higher performance, GE generates great results from the people and process. This combination unlocks GEs business breadth, revealing new paths to growth. The company has 2 councils that are responsible for achieving such high performance: The Commercial Council that drives the Companys growth initiative: Growth as a Process. This initiative has yielded record-setting organic revenue growth for the last three years (Annual report, 2008). They also have Leadership, Innovation and Growth team training program, all are meant to achieve the long-term profitability and success of the Conglomerate and to develop communications expertise to create new ideas and foster existing ones. Also there is the Operating Council which was formed in 2007, which consisted of leaders from engineering, supply chain, sourcing, finance, and product management. The goal of the council was clear: create a $1 billion funnel of ideas, and improve the Companys operating profit margin rate by 100 basis points to a world-class level of 18% (Annual report, 2008). Also, The Council is focused on lowering product costs, reducing overhead, countering inflation, turning inventory, and improving price. It is a forum to share best practices on topics such as productivity, simplification, sourcing, restructuring, quality, and new products -all critical disciplines in an increasingly competitive and global environment. The Council uses a common scorecard to measure progress across the company and spreads its success to all businesses. In addition, General Electric has been a leading source of corporate strategy concepts and innovations for more than half a century. The firm has been among the top five members of fortune magazines Americas Most Admired corporations since the listing began. Considering the research question in this project which is the reasons for the success of two American conglomerates through diversification strategy and their achievements, the researcher refers diversification as a growth strategy and both 9Berkshire Hathaway and General electric) are known for their wide range of businesses and their growth through acquisitions. Makron Associated identified several conglomerates with exceptional performance in terms of ten-year shareholder returns. Berkshire Hathaway and General electric were part of these identified firms. The common characteristics of these companies were: strict financial discipline, rigorous analysis and valuation, a refusal to overpay for acquisitions and a willingness to close or sell existing businesses (Kaye and Yuwono, 2003) However, the case against conglomerates can be overstated and there are certainly potential advantages to unrelated diversification in some conditions: Exploiting dominant logics, rather than concrete operational relationships, can be a source of conglomerate value creation. As at Berkshire Hathaway, a skilled investor such as Warren Buffett, the so-called Oracle of Omaha and one of the richest men in the world, may be able to add value to diverse businesses within his dominant logic (Prahalad and Betis, 1986, 1995). Berkshire Hathaway includes businesses in different areas of manufacturing, insurance, distribution and retailing, but Buffet focuses on mature businesses that he can understand and whose managers he can trust. During the e-business boom of the late 1990s, Buffet deliberately avoided buying high-technology businesses because he knew they were outside his dominant logic. Countries with underdeveloped markets can be fertile ground for conglomerates. Where external capital and labor markets do not yet work well, conglomerates offer a substitute mechanism for allocating and developing capital or managerial talent within their own organizational boundaries. For example, Korean conglomerates (the chaebol) were successful in the rapid growth phase of the Korean economy partly because they were able to mobilize investment and develop managers in a way that standalone companies in South Korea traditionally were unable to. Also, the strong cultural cohesion amongst managers in these chaebol reduced the coordination and monitoring costs that would be necessary in a Western conglomerate, where managers would be trusted less (Markides, 2002). The same may be true today in other fast-growing economies that still have underdeveloped capital and labor markets. General electric has operations in many underdeveloped countries, For example, in 2008; GE completed the Hamma Seawater Desalination Plant, the largest desalination plant in northern Africa, which provides 2 million Algerian residents with a reliable source of fresh drinking water every day. Through innovatory thinking and cutting-edge technologies from GEs Oil Gas and Power Water businesses, GE is able to solve some of the problems that Algeria faces under todays harsh climate, while helping to position them for a brighter tomorrow. Also, graduate students in US compete to get entry-level positions with diversified corporation such General electric and Berkshire Hathaway and this provides them opportunities like the hiring of high calibre of employees. Other General Electric Success reason is the corporations strong core values: which are the underlying principles that guide an organizations strategy. Collins and Porras (2002) have argued that the long- run success of many US corporates-such as General Electric and Disney can be attributed (at least in part) to strong core values. The company workers consider their culture as part of innovation, a culture that was built over decades by their leaders and which is still the unifying force for the many GE business units around the world. While, communicating the strategy is an important within a company: Both corporation communications should be focused on the key components of the strategy, avoiding unnecessary detail or complex language. For example, CEO jack Welchs famous statement that General electric should either be number one or number two in all its markets. This strategy clearly shows that General Electric is a company that always strives hard to be a dominant player wherever the company competed. On the other hand, some of the most important sources of value creation within diversified firms are the ability to apply common general management capabilities, strategic management systems, and resource allocations processes to different businesses. Such economies depend on the existence of strategic rather than Operational commonalities among the different businesses within the diversified corporation (Robins and wiersema, 2002). Berkshire Hathaway is involved in insurance, candy stores, furniture, kitchen knives, jewellery, and footwear. Despite this diversity, all these businesses have been selected on the basis of their ability to benefit from the unique style of management established by warren buffet and CEO Charles Munger. The essence of such strategic-level linkage is the ability to apply similar strategies, resource allocation procedures and control systems across the different businesses within the corporate portfolio (Grant, 1988). While, GE participates in a wide variety of markets including the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity (e.g. nuclear, gas and solar), lighting, industrial automation, medical imaging equipment, motors, railway locomotives, aircraft jet engines, and aviation services. It co-owns NBC Universal with Vivendi (Annual Report, 2008). With all these many business divisions General electric remains still successful. 4.2.3 How the shareholders value is enhanced as the firms product diversifies. With so many ups and downs of corporate diversification, financial researchers have been worried with its benefits and costs. Majority of the benefits of corporate diversification come all along with the advantages of internal capital markets over external financing. By avoiding transaction cost and additional cost of informational asymmetries diversified firms with a bigger internal capital market allow for a more efficient capital allocation (Chandler 1977, Stein 1997). Also there are other benefits such as risk reduction on corporate level for diversified firms: lower cash flow volatility may increase the debt capacity of the company and thereby the tax shield of debt without facing prohibitive cost of financial distress (Lewellen 1971). Additionally lower volatility helps to reduce underinvestment cost when external financing is not available or only at prohibitive cost (e.g. Stulz 1990). In addition, Berkshire Hathaway and general Electric are companies that create Value by acquiring companies at favorable prices, and they closely monitor their financial performance, and operate through an effective internal capital market. At general Electric, Jack Welch was an especially effective example of corporate initiatives as a means of driving organizational change. His initiatives were built around communicable and compelling slogans such as General Electric growth engine, boundarylessness; six-sigma quality and destroy -your business-dot-com. The research assumes that diversification is a means by which a firm expands from its core business into other product markets, and that is what the corporate management is actively engaged in, diversifying activities than ever before leading to a considerable amount of rise observed in diversified firms. As it was earlier stated, companies diversify for three main reasons, Growth, Risk reduction and Profitability in a simpler way. Normally, Growth and Risk reduction have been significant motives for diversification; they tend to be not consistent with the creation of shareholder value. Therefore, both general electric and Berkshire Hathaway had and still have the desire to grow. Berkshire has been acquiring and owning stakes in companies since early 70s. We clearly see from the companys timeline that the Berkshire continued growing through acquiring stakes in many companies. The latest acquisition was in February 2010 which was the Corporations purchase of the remaining shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation for $26 billion, the companys biggest purchase ever. While General Electric has acquired Vital signs Inc for $860 in 2008 (Chicago Tribune, 2008) and it also announce in 2009 that it will buy out Vivendis stake in NBC Universal and sell a controlling interest of the company to Comcast, with General Electric retaining a 49 interest in joint venture (Goldman and Pepitone, 2009). With the Acquisitions history, Both Corporations have been growing and expanding their business with the objective of Maximizing Shareholder wealth. Referring back to the next motive for diversification which is the desire to spread risks To isolate the effects of diversification on risk, consider the case of pure or conglomerate diversification, where separate businesses are brought under common ownership but the individual cash flows of the business remain unaffected. As long as the cash flow of the different businesses are imperfectly correlated, then the variance of the cash flow of the combined businesses is less than the average of that of the separate businesses, Hence Diversification reduces risk. Both of the companies have engaged in numerous activities for decade, they have expanded their businesses. Rumelt (1974) discovered that companies that diversified into businesses closely related to their core activities were significantly more profitable than those that pursued unrelated diversification. According to Peters and Waterman (1982) Virtually every academic study has concluded that unchanneled diversification is losing proposition. This observation provided the basis for one of peters and watermans golden rules of excellence -stick to the knitting: Our principle finding is clear and simple. Organizations that do branch out but stick very close to their knitting outperform the others. The most successful are those diversified around a single skill, the coating and Bonding technology at 3M for example. The second group in descending order, comprise those companies that branch out into related fields, the leap from electric power generation turbines to jet engines from General electric. Least successful, as a general rule, are those companies that diversify into wide variety of fields. Acquisitions especially among this group tend to be wither on the vine (Peters and waterman, 1982). Finally, the research paper postulates that shareholder value is increased when companies diversified in related businesses, since they share capabilities and core resources across the businesses. And the growth of such (GE and Berkshire Hathaway) conglomerates might improve the companys profitability, since new related businesses means spreading of risks and increasing of profitability across each business segments. 4.2.4 The costs and benefits associated with undertaking product diversification. In order to find out the costs and benefits of product diversification, the research paper looks at: the relative costs and benefits of corporate diversification are likely to depend on how the different business activities of a firm are related to one another. Where separate business activities use a common, indivisible input, a diversified firm can exploit economies of scope. However, One of the benefits of diversification focuses on the presence of economies of scope in common resources: Economies of scope exist whenever there are cost savings from using a resource in multiple activities carried out in combination rather than carrying out those activities independently (Baumol, panzer and willig, 1982). Also Economies of scope can arise in finance, by combing an industrial company with a financial services company; General electric lowers its cost of capital to both sides of the company. Also, Economies of scope arise not just from tangible input like a common R D department or a common distribution system but also from intangible assets like brand names and production know-how. For instance, general electric has the fourth most recognized brand in the world, worth almost $48 billion (Business week, 2009). While businesses within diversified firms can therefore be related in at least one of two ways: They could be related either because they share markets, distribution systems, product and process technologies, or manufacturing facilities (Ansoff 1965, Rumelt 1974, Teece 1980), or because they rely on common technologies, managerial capabilities and routines and repertoires (Prahalad/Bettis 1986, Kazanjian/Drazin 1987, Winter 1987, Grant 1988). The use of these assets may be transferable at negligible marginal costs. For instance, General electric shares of its activities like RD and Distribution channels across its wide range of businesses. Also, the companies engage in lots of transaction costs and its very complicated to manage such businesses but in the end they reap Benefits of high returns from their activities. 4.2.5 The incentives Top management expect as companies diversifies In Berkshire Hathaway, managers are paid modest salaries and also receive very significant cash bonuses if performance goals are achieved. Buffett tailors the compensation plan to each business, based on its economics and competitive positioning. Managers are compensated for elements of the business that are directly under their control (such as growth and profitability of insurance contracts). Major emphasis is placed on the capability to return free cash flow to headquarters. The company does not grant equity-based awards because their value cannot be as closely correlated to performance as can cash bonuses (meaning: In terms of value realized rather than expected value on the grant date). Still, cash bonuses can reach extreme levels-tens of millions for superior performance. So, Here the compensation have no relation with the size of the Company and thus it doesnt matter for Berkshire Hathaway whether they have many diversified business or not but the main focus is Achieving the targets and High performance is highly rewarded However, on the contrary, Buffett and his vice-President Munger receive humble compensation. Their salaries are set at $100,000. They receive no bonuses, options, or restricted grants. Instead, their economic incentive is driven by direct holdings of company stock which they purchased with their own money in the 1960s. As of year-end 2009, the values of those holdings were $40 billion of Buffett and $1.3 billion for Munger. Similarly, board members receive insignificant fees for their services and are encouraged to purchase substantial sums of company stock with their own money. To sum up, Berkshires top management performance has no direct influence to how diversify businesses may be, Instead each manager is rewarded for the excellent achievement of his area of control. On the other hand, General electrics CEO, Mr. Immelt earns higher salary than Warren Buffet. Immelts Base salary is $3,300,000 plus Bonuses. While the managers are rewarded on the basis of a guiding principle of compensation program which ensures that the management has in place the right metrics and incentives, applied over the appropriate performance periods. The company rewards consistent performance and discourage short-term-oriented behaviour that may yield a single period of good results without regard for proper risk management or the long-term health of the business. The committee uses a mix of compensation that balances rewards for current and long-term performance. Performance metrics include growth in earnings per share, revenue, and cash flow. Managers believe this is the best way to stimulate innovation and ensure solid execution, while guaranteeing that risks are recognized and managed appropriately over the long term. Although they have fine-tuned compensation programs as conditions change, the management believe it is important to maintain consistency in the compensation philosophy and approach. There is also a recognition that value-creating performance by an executive or group of executives does not always translate immediately into appreciation in GEs stock price, particularly in periods of severe economic stress. Nonetheless, General Electric continues to reward such performances based on the firms belief that, over time, true value creation does translate into stock price appreciation. 4.2.4 Risks associated with the strategy of diversification Buffett is also primarily responsible for enterprise risk management. Risk oversight is not delegated to a committee or risk management function. According to Buffett, I regard myself as the chief risk officer at Berkshire. ( Berkshire Hathaway, Annual meeting 20080 The companys primary tool to mitigate enterprise risk is the delegation of responsibility to managers with proven skill and integrity. Munger explains : A lot of people think if you just had more process and more compliance, you could create a better result in the world. Well, Berkshire has had practically no process. We had hardly any internal audit until they forced it on us. We just try to operate in a seamless web of deserved trust and be careful whom we trust. (Wesco Financial, annual meeting 2007). Due to the global economic crisis was the failure of many executives and businesses the ability to understand and adequately manage and price risk. At GE, the corporation has strategies and management processes that effectively manage risk and maximize opportunities across its many businesses. Its process includes long-term strategic planning, executive development and evaluation, regulatory and litigation compliance reviews, environmental compliance reviews, GE Capitals corporate risk function and GEs senior level Corporate Risk Committee. And as a result of the current financial crisis; GE expects that managing risk will be even more important to competitive advantage and long-term success. The corporations executive compensation program is designed to reward those executives who demonstrate an ability to assess and manage risk effectively. At the same time as over the past year, General electric leaders have demonstrated the ability to identify risks and adapt strategies in order to protect the Company. GE acted quickly to improve liquidity, raise capital, and transform the financial businesses. The company has also exited businesses with unacceptable rates of risk-adjusted return. Similarly, Berkshire Hathaway believe that it is important to continue to reward those who demonstrate this disciplined ability to protect the firm;s businesses, but its only appropriate that certain components of compensation will decline during periods of economic stress and reduced earnings. Both General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway, have techniques to spread risks and overcome challenges and thus their activities of diversified businesses. As it was explained earlier, Berkshires CEO considers himself as a chief risk officer and while the managers of both corporations have responsibilities in reducing the risks involved in the activities under their control. In addition, both General electric and Berkshire Hathaway fits in the Prospector strategy of Miles and Snow. Since both firms have highly diversified businesses. This is the most aggressive of all the four strategies. It typically involves active programs to expand into new markets and stimulate new opportunities. Innovative product development is vigorously pursued and attacks on competitors are a common way of obtaining additional market share. The both corporations have a way to respond quickly to any signs of market opportunity, and they do so with little research. A large proportion of their revenue comes from new products or new markets. They are often highly leveraged sometimes with a substantial equity position held by venture capitalists. The risk of product failure or market rejection is high with the prospector strategy. Their market domain is constantly in flux as new opportunities arise and past product offerings atrophy. They value being the first in an industry, thinking that their first mover advantage will provide them with premium pricing opportunities and high margins. Price skimming is a common way of recapturing the cost of development. General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway are known for being opportunistic in headhunting key employees, both technical and managerial. Thus this explains why both firms spend so much on advertising, sales promotion, and their personal selling costs are a high percentage of sales. Typically firms who fit in the prospector strategy are structured with each strategic business unit having considerable autonomy. With Berkshire Hathaway trusting responsibility of business performance entirely in the hands of local managers and General Electric decentralising decisions within each business units, Risks might be reduced. And Firms in these industries tend to be in the introduction or growth stage of their life cycle with few competitors and evolving technology which also provides opportunities such as less competition to both companies Products. Example of GE acquired firms includes Vivendi in 2009,(which is a French international media conglomerate with activities ranging from filming, publishing, telecommunication, music, television and it also have Internet, and video games. The acquired firm had financial troubles due to over-expansion in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. In addition, General electric acquire Vital Signs Inc. for US$860 million in 2008 (Appendix 6.2, GE timeline). The acquired firm makes disposable medical products used to help patients during surgery to breath. Berkshire acquired several companies the last 2-3 years, for instance: the company purchased 80 percent stake in Iscar Metalworking for $4 billion in 2006, which was the firms first purchase of a foreign subsidiary. Johns Manville Corp, a business unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired Corbond Corp, a manufacturer of polyurethane spray foam insulation products in august 2009.

Paris in the 1920’s †“The Lost Generation” Essay -- History France Pa

Paris in the 1920’s – â€Å"The Lost Generation† Between the end of the First World War and Hitler's seizure of power a cultural explosion occurred in Paris that altered our notions of art and reality and shaped our way of viewing the world ever since. In the 1920's, Paris became the undisputed international capital of pleasure and was regarded as the cultural and artistic center of Europe with a reputation for staging one of its most glamorous eras, as well as some of the most spectacular revues in the world. Imagine for a moment, that it really is 1920's Paris. You are leisurely strolling through the gas lit promenades. World War I is over and the exuberance of jazz musicians, symbolist painters, and American expatriates fills the â€Å"City of Light† with a buzz as sharp as electricity. The city revolves around nothing more than cafà © life, drinking, and dining. A young, American man enters a small, smoky cafà © that is popular among other expatriates. He is the world-famous novelist, F. Scott Fitzge rald, and he sits down next to Ernest Hemingway. The two authors begin a friendship that characterizes the artistic culture of 1920's Paris – an era described by Gertrude Stein as "where the twentieth century was." Finding two artists like Fitzgerald and Hemingway pleasantly chatting together in a random bookstore or cafà © in 1920's Paris was not unusual. Paris swarmed with a number of intellectuals, poets, and artists who had fled America seeking a less materialistic and more uncomplicated lifestyle. Paris was the center of it all. It became a breeding ground for the arts and for some of America's greatest authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, E.E. Cummings, John Dos Passos, Ezra ... ... N/A. â€Å"Searching for Ernest Hemingway’s Paris.† http://www.thaiair.com/flying/aroundworld/aroundworld-06.htm. Around the World with Thai Airways International. This is a good site because it talks a lot about how Ernest Hemingway saw Paris during the time he was living there, so you can get a good picture of it yourself. It also talks a little bit about modern day Paris and some of the historical places that still remain today from the 1920’s. N/A. http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~garychapman/paris.html. (Home Page) I thought this was a neat site to include because it describes the fashion and costume design of the 1920’s in Paris. There are some good pictures to look at that help you to get a better idea of how Parisian women typically dressed. However, it only focuses on one woman, Dolly Tree, so it is a bit limited.