Book Review: When Genius Failed Essay

Lowenstein’s ability to come up with a concise, coherent story and his experience in financial journalism is strongly evident in this book. Not only can Lowenstein weave together and tell a great story (this author felt he was being led through the history of the fund and its characters by one of its inner partners while reading through this book), he also pays attention to details whenever it is needed – and he succeeds greatly by catching many important subtleties (such as in the beginning of Chapter one when he used one of those â€Å"subtleties† in Meriwether’s early areer to explain the basis of LTCM’s core business model and the subtle, but gradual â€Å"style drift† that brought down the hedge fund afterwards) as well as making many interesting observations along the way (such as the fatal flaw LTCM committed when it started engaging in stocks arbitrage as opposed to sticking to bond arbitrage). 7. Concept: Unsystematic Risk. A specifi c risk is a risk that affects a very small number of assets. This is sometimes referred to as â€Å"unsystematic risk†. In a balanced portfolio of assets there would be a spread between general market risk and risks specific to individual components of that portfolio. Unlike systematic and market risk, specific risk can be diversified away. A diversified portfolio is the realisation of the proverb â€Å"don’t put all your eggs in one basket†. As Irish investors become more sophisticated in their strategies, they look beyond the risks of stock-picking to managing risk through diversified, balanced investment portfolios. Mr. Fitzgerald, portfolio manager for Hibernian Investment Managers said that often the first step in reducing risk is investing in pooled investments like mutual funds, unit trusts and unit-linked funds. It’s a toe-in-the-water position, they begin with cautiously-managed funds, and then as they grow in wealth or experience they may choose a managed fund with higher equity content† Source: Margaret E. Ward, The Irish Times, 2nd July 1999. 10. Concept: The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). William Sharpe the Capital Asset Pricing Model in 1964. Parallel work was also performed by Jack Treynor, John Lintn er and Jan Mossin. CAPM is used in finance to determine a theoretically appropriate required rate of return of an asset. It considers a simplified world where there are no taxes and transaction costs, all investors have identical investment horizons and identical opinions about expected returns, volatilities and correlations of available investments. This model states that the expected return on a specific asset equals the risk-free rate plus a premium that depends on the asset’s beta and the expected risk premium on the market portfolio. CAPM extended Harry Markowitz’s modern portfolio theory and of diversification to introduce the notions of systematic and specified risk. Source: www. google. com 11. Concept: Capital Budgeting. Capital Budgeting or Investment Appraisals are the planning processes used to determine a firm’s long term investments such as new machinery, replacement machinery, new plants, new products and research and development projects. This is the process of identifying which long-lived investment projects a firm should undertake. US entertainment giant Warner Brothers investigated a possible high-tech back office studio development in Belfast. Executives from the group conducted an appraisal of possible investment opportunities on the site. The group planned a high-tech quarter in Belfast, which it hoped would attract multimedia, informatics and telecoms firms to set up in Northern Ireland. Source: Francess McDonnell, The Irish Times, 7th August 2001. 18. Concept: Financial Management. This is managing a firms internal cash flows and its mix of debt and equity financing, both to maximise the value of the debt and equity claims on firms’ and to ensure that companies can pay off their obligations when they come due. This is illustrated through financial reporting; the dream of consistent and uniform systems of financial reporting around the world is a seductive one. It is also elusive. The problem is that, however great the attempts at providing a universally acceptable standard, the differing goals of the world’s reporting regimes get in the way. Europe and about a 100 other countries go for the International Financial Reporting Standards (IRFS) whereas, the US stand alone and stick to their US generally accepted accounting (GAAP) yet seek reconciliation from the IRFS. It is the electronic tagging and analysis system XBRL that will enable the elements of a company’s financial reports to be accessed by users and reconfigured to provide whatever information the user wants. Mr. Cox, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman said he was â€Å"looking forward to a future in which XBRL, US GAAP and IFRS would be interconnected and hence the problem of global comparability would be solved†. Source: Robert Bruce, Financial Times, 4th January 2007.

A Dirty Job Chapter 2

2 A FINE EDGE There's a fine edge to new grief, it severs nerves, disconnects reality – there's mercy in a sharp blade. Only with time, as the edge wears, does the real ache begin. So Charlie was barely even aware of his own shrieks in Rachel's hospital room, of being sedated, of the filmy electric hysteria that netted everything he did for that first day. After that, it was a memory out of a sleepwalk, scenes filmed from a zombie's eye socket, as he ambled undead through explanations, accusations, preparations, and ceremony. â€Å"It's called a cerebral thromboembolism,† the doctor had said. â€Å"A blood clot forms in the legs or pelvis during labor, then moves to the brain, cutting off the blood supply. It's very rare, but it happens. There was nothing we could do. Even if the crash team had been able to revive her, she'd have had massive brain damage. There was no pain. She probably just felt sleepy and passed.† Charlie whispered to keep from screaming, â€Å"The man in mint green! He did something to her. He injected her with something. He was there and he knew that she was dying. I saw him when I brought her CD back.† They showed him the security tapes – the nurse, the doctor, the hospital's administrators and lawyers – they all watched the black-and-white images of him leaving Rachel's room, of the empty hallway, of his returning to her room. No tall black man dressed in mint green. They didn't even find the CD. Sleep deprivation, they said. Hallucination brought on by exhaustion. Trauma. They gave him drugs to sleep, drugs for anxiety, drugs for depression, and they sent him home with his baby daughter. Charlie's older sister, Jane, held baby Sophie as they spoke over Rachel and buried her on the second day. He didn't remember picking out a casket or making arrangements. It was more of the somnambulant dream: his in-laws moving to and fro in black, like tottering specters, spouting the inadequate clichs of condolence: We're so sorry. She was so young. What a tragedy. If there's anything we can do†¦ Rachel's father and mother held him, their heads pressed together in the apex of a tripod. The slate floor in the funeral-home foyer spotted with their tears. Every time Charlie felt the shoulders of the older man heave with a sob, he felt his own heart break again. Saul took Charlie's face in his hands and said, â€Å"You can't imagine, because I can't imagine.† But Charlie could imagine, because he was a Beta Male, and imagination was his curse; and he could imagine because he had lost Rachel and now he had a daughter, that tiny stranger sleeping in his sister's arms. He could imagine the man in mint green taking her. Charlie looked at the tear-spotted floor and said, â€Å"That's why most funeral homes are carpeted. Someone could slip.† â€Å"Poor boy,† said Rachel's mother. â€Å"We'll sit shivah with you, of course.† Charlie made his way across the room to his sister, Jane, who wore a man's double-breasted suit in charcoal pinstripe gabardine, that along with her severe eighties pop-star hairstyle and the infant in the pink blanket that she held, made her appear not so much androgynous as confused. Charlie thought the suit actually looked better on her than it did on him, but she should have asked him for permission to wear it nonetheless. â€Å"I can't do this,† he said. He let himself fall forward until the receded peninsula of dark hair touched her gelled Flock of Seagulls platinum flip. It seemed like the best posture for sharing grief, this forehead lean, and it reminded him of standing drunkenly at a urinal and falling forward until his head hit the wall. Despair. â€Å"You're doing fine,† Jane said. â€Å"Nobody's good at this.† â€Å"What the fuck's a shivah?† â€Å"I think it's that Hindu god with all the arms.† â€Å"That can't be right. The Goldsteins are going to sit on it with me.† â€Å"Didn't Rachel teach you anything about being Jewish?† â€Å"I wasn't paying attention. I thought we had time.† Jane adjusted baby Sophie into a half-back, one-armed carry and put her free hand on the back of Charlie's neck. â€Å"You'll be okay, kid.† Seven,† said Mrs. Goldstein. â€Å"Shivah means ‘seven.' We used to sit for seven days, grieving for the dead, praying. That's Orthodox, now most people just sit for three.† They sat shivah in Charlie and Rachel's apartment that overlooked the cable-car line at the corner of Mason and Vallejo Streets. The building was a four-story brick Edwardian (architecturally, not quite the grand courtesan couture of the Victorians, but enough tarty trim and trash to toss off a sailor down a side street) built after the earthquake and fire of 1906 had leveled the whole area of what was now North Beach, Russian Hill, and Chinatown. Charlie and Jane had inherited the building, along with the thrift shop that occupied the ground floor, when their father died four years before. Charlie got the business, the large, double apartment they'd grown up in, and the upkeep on the old building, while Jane got half the rental income and one of the apartments on the top floor with a Bay Bridge view. At the instruction of Mrs. Goldstein, all the mirrors in the house were draped with black fabric and a large candle was placed on the coffee table in the center of the living room. They were supposed to sit on low benches or cushions, neither of which Charlie had in the house, so, for the first time since Rachel's death, he went downstairs into the thrift shop looking for something they could use. The back stairs descended from a pantry behind the kitchen into the stockroom, where Charlie kept his office among boxes of merchandise waiting to be sorted, priced, and placed in the store. The shop was dark except for the light that filtered in the front window from the streetlights out on Mason Street. Charlie stood there at the foot of the stairs, his hand on the light switch, just staring. Amid the shelves of knickknacks and books, the piles of old radios, the racks of clothes, all of them dark, just lumpy shapes in the dark, he could see objects glowing a dull red, nearly pulsing, like beating hearts. A sweater in the racks, a porcelain figure of a frog in a curio case, out by the front window an old Coca-Cola tray, a pair of shoes – all glowing red. Charlie flipped the switch, fluorescent tubes fired to life across the ceiling, flickering at first, and the shop lit up. The red glow disappeared. â€Å"Okaaaaaaay,† he said to himself, calmly, like everything was just fine now. He flipped off the lights. Glowing red stuff. On the counter, close to where he stood, there was a brass business-card holder cast in the shape of a whooping crane, glowing dull red. He took a second to study it, just to make sure there wasn't some red light source from outside refracting around the room and making him uneasy for no reason. He stepped into the dark shop, took a closer look, got an angle on the brass cranes. Nope, the brass was definitely pulsing red. He turned and ran back up the steps as fast as he could. He nearly ran over Jane, who stood in the kitchen, rocking Sophie gently in her arms, talking baby talk under her breath. â€Å"What?† Jane said. â€Å"I know you have some big cushions down in the shop somewhere.† â€Å"I can't,† Charlie said. â€Å"I'm on drugs.† He backed against the refrigerator, like he was holding it hostage. â€Å"I'll go get them. Here, hold the baby.† â€Å"I can't, I'm on drugs. I'm hallucinating.† Jane cradled the baby in the crook of her right arm and put a free arm around her younger brother. â€Å"Charlie, you are on antidepressants and antianxiety drugs, not acid. Look around this apartment, there's not a person here that's not on something.† Charlie looked through the kitchen pass-through: women in black, most of them middle-aged or older, shaking their heads, men looking stoic, standing around the perimeter of the living room, each holding a stout tumbler of liquor and staring into space. â€Å"See, they're all fucked up.† â€Å"What about Mom?† Charlie nodded to their mother, who stood out among the other gray-haired women in black because she was draped in silver Navaho jewelry and was so darkly tanned that she appeared to be melting into her old-fashioned when she took a sip. â€Å"Especially Mom,† Jane said. â€Å"I'll go look for something to sit shivah on. I don't know why you can't just use the couches. Now take your daughter.† â€Å"I can't. I can't be trusted with her.† â€Å"Take her, bitch!† Jane barked in Charlie's ear – sort of a whisper bark. It had long ago been determined who was the Alpha Male between them and it was not Charlie. She handed off the baby and cut to the stairs. â€Å"Jane,† Charlie called after her. â€Å"Look around before you turn on the lights. See if you see anything weird, okay?† â€Å"Right. Weird.† She left him standing there in the kitchen, studying his daughter, thinking that her head might be a little oblong, but despite that, she looked a little like Rachel. â€Å"Your mommy loved Aunt Jane,† he said. â€Å"They used to gang up on me in Risk – and Monopoly – and arguments – and cooking.† He slid down the fridge door, sat splayed-legged on the floor, and buried his face in Sophie's blanket. In the dark, Jane barked her shin on a wooden box full of old telephones. â€Å"Well, this is just stupid,† she said to herself, and flipped on the lights. Nothing weird. Then, because Charlie was many things, but one of them was not crazy, she turned off the lights again, just to be sure that she hadn't missed something. â€Å"Right. Weird.† There was nothing weird about the store except that she was standing there in the dark rubbing her shin. But then, right before she turned on the light again, she saw someone peering in the front window, making a cup around his eyes to see through the reflection of the streetlights. A homeless guy or drunken tourist, she thought. She moved through the dark shop, between columns of comic books stacked on the floor, to a spot behind a rack of jackets where she could get a clear view of the window, which was filled with cheap cameras, vases, belt buckles, and all manner of objects that Charlie had judged worthy of interest, but obviously not worthy of a smash-and-grab. The guy looked tall, and not homeless, nicely dressed, but all in a single light color, she thought it might be yellow, but it was hard to tell under the streetlights. Could be light green. â€Å"We're closed,† Jane said, loud enough to be heard through the glass. The man outside peered around the shop, but couldn't spot her. He stepped back from the window and she could see that he was, indeed, tall. Very tall. The streetlight caught the line of his cheek as he turned. He was also very thin and very black. â€Å"I was looking for the owner,† the tall man said. â€Å"I have something I need to show him.† â€Å"There's been a death in the family,† Jane said. â€Å"We'll be closed for the week. Can you come back in a week?† The tall man nodded, looking up and down the street as he did. He rocked on one foot like he was about to bolt, but kept stopping himself, like a sprinter straining against the starting blocks. Jane didn't move. There were always people out on the street, and it wasn't even late yet, but this guy was too anxious for the situation. â€Å"Look, if you need to get something appraised – â€Å" â€Å"No,† he cut her off. â€Å"No. Just tell him she's, no – tell him to look for a package in the mail. I'm not sure when.† Jane smiled to herself. This guy had something – a brooch, a coin, a book – something that he thought was worth some money, maybe something he'd found in his grandmother's closet. She'd seen it a dozen times. They acted like they've found the lost city of Eldorado – they'd come in with it tucked in their coats, or wrapped in a thousand layers of tissue paper and tape. (The more tape, generally, the more worthless the item would turn out to be – there was an equation there somewhere.) Nine times out of ten it was crap. She'd watched her father try to finesse their ego and gently lower the owners into disappointment, convince them that the sentimental value made it priceless, and that he, a lowly secondhand-store owner, couldn't presume to put a value on it. Charlie, on the other hand, would just tell them that he didn't know about brooches, or coins, or whatever they had and let someone else bear the bad news. â€Å"Okay, I'll tell him,† Jane said from her cover behind the coats. With that, the tall man was away, taking great praying-mantis strides up the street and out of view. Jane shrugged, went back and turned on the lights, then proceeded to search for cushions among the piles. It was a big store, taking up nearly the whole bottom floor of the building, and not particularly well organized, as each system that Charlie adopted seemed to collapse after a few weeks under its own weight, and the result was not so much a patchwork of organizational systems, but a garden of mismatched piles. Lily, the maroon-haired Goth girl who worked for Charlie three afternoons a week, said that the fact that they ever found anything at all was proof of the chaos theory at work, then she would walk away muttering and go out in the alley to smoke clove cigarettes and stare into the Abyss. (Although Charlie noted that the Abyss looked an awful lot like a Dumpster.) It took Jane ten minutes to navigate the aisles and find three cushions that looked wide enough and thick enough that they might work for sitting shivah, and when she returned to Charlie's apartment she found her brother curled into the fetal position around baby Sophie, asleep on the kitchen floor. The other mourners had completely forgotten about him. â€Å"Hey, doofus.† She nudged his shoulder with her toe and he rolled onto his back, the baby still in his arms. â€Å"These okay?† â€Å"Did you see anything glowing?† Jane dropped the stack of cushions on the floor. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Glowing red. Did you see things in the shop glowing, like pulsating red?† â€Å"No. Did you?† â€Å"Kind of.† â€Å"Give 'em up.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"The drugs. Hand them over. They're obviously much better than you led me to believe.† â€Å"But you said they were just antianxiety.† â€Å"Give up the drugs. I'll watch the kid while you shivah.† â€Å"You can't watch my daughter if you're on drugs.† â€Å"Fine. Surrender the crumb snatcher and go sit.† Charlie handed the baby up to Jane. â€Å"You have to keep Mom out of the way, too.† â€Å"Oh no, not without drugs.† â€Å"They're in the medicine cabinet in the master bath. Bottom shelf.† He was sitting on the floor now, rubbing his forehead as if to stretch the skin out over his pain. She kneed him in the shoulder. â€Å"Hey, kid, I'm sorry, you know that, right? Goes without saying, right?† â€Å"Yeah.† A weak smile. She held the baby up by her face, then looked down in adoration, Mother of Jesus style. â€Å"What do you think? I should get one of these, huh?† â€Å"You can borrow mine whenever you need to.† â€Å"Nah, I should get my own. I already feel bad about borrowing your wife.† â€Å"Jane!† â€Å"Kidding! Jeez. You're such a wuss sometimes. Go sit shivah. Go. Go. Go.† Charlie gathered the cushions and went to the living room to grieve with his in-laws, nervous because the only prayer he knew was â€Å"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,† and he wasn't sure that was going to cut it for three full days. Jane forgot to mention the tall guy from the shop.

Differences Between Same Sex Marriages Essay - 2574 Words

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The Cultural Nature Of Human Development - 1257 Words

Research on human development has been much devoted towards determining when one should expect children to be capable of certain skills. Every day, our communities develop as generations of individuals make choices and invent solutions to changing circumstances. Our ongoing daily activities, ranging from learning when to brush our teeth, to learning the numbers on a telephone. Barbara Rogoff’s The Cultural Nature of Human Development discusses cultural patterns as they relate to human development. Human development is a cultural process by which devices such as language and literacy are employed by means of learning from one another. To date, the study of human development has been largely based around research and theoretical knowledge coming from middle-class communities in Europe, as well as North America. Questions such as â€Å"When does children’s intellectual development permit them to be responsible for others?† and â€Å"When can they be trusted to take care of an infant?† are vital in recognizing cultural approaches among different cultural communities. Rogoff’s work discusses the importance of increasing the understanding of the cultural basis of our own lives as those of our neighbors and those individuals we do not know personally. Rogoff’s purpose is to contribute to the greater understanding of not only scholars, but also practitioners and other professionals within the field. She explains that observing activities of different cultural communities can inevitably teachShow MoreRelatedEssay on Nature Versus Nurture Debate987 Words   |  4 PagesThe nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest and most controversial issues in Psychology. The nature versus nurture debate revolves around the contributions of genetic factors and environmental factors to human development. 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The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1412 Words

There are moments in life that the world seems to be turned upside down and inside out; As if the greatest moments come to the least deserving person, and the passionate and the diligent only get a drop of achievement. These moments can come in waves of frustration, anger, envy - for the struggling - tearing the hard workers to pieces when they see the undeserving take in praise and achievements, but still pushing on towards their dream, these workers don’t bend to the challenges that are thrown in the way. Instead, it only fuels their fire, makes the engines burn and pushes them further; to only have their drudgery mean nothing. Time after time, throughout history, the world had seen this pattern show; in factories, huge companies - especially in politics - but even more so in early twentieth century literature, like The Grapes of Wrath, Elmer Gantry, and Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the settings of the valley of ashes and Gatsby ’s mansion to convey that the American Dream is impossible to achieve due to the greediness of the wealthy. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s mansion to demonstrate the obsession of the American Dream to become rich. While touring throughout the house, Nick and Jordan wander into Gatsby’s library, in hopes of finding Gatsby himself. Instead, they meet Owl eyes, a nosy reader that seems to understand Gatsby’s character better than the entire city. Impressed and slightly jealous of the wealthy his host has,Show MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald1393 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald was the model of the American image in the nineteen twenties. He had wealth, fame, a beautiful wife, and an adorable daughter; all seemed perfect. Beneath the gilded faà §ade, however, was an author who struggled with domestic and physical difficulties that plagued his personal life and career throughout its short span. 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The usage of the literary theories of both Biographical and Historical lenses provide a unique interpretation of the Great Gatsby centered aroundRead MoreThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald845 Words   |  3 PagesIn F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, colors represent a variety of symbols that relate back to the American Dream. The dream of being pure, innocent and perfect is frequently associated with the reality of corruption, violence, and affairs. Gatsby’s desire for achieving the American Dream is sought for through corruption (Schneider). The American Dream in the 1920s was perceived as a desire of w ealth and social standings. Social class is represented through the East Egg, the WestRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay970 Words   |  4 Pagesrespecting and valuing Fitzgerald work in the twenty-first century? Fitzgerald had a hard time to profiting from his writing, but he was not successful after his first novel. 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Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation-Samples for Students

Questions: 1.Provide an Introduction to the report that clearly states the aim and structure of the report, and provides justifications of the HRM issues discussed, looking into with key strategic aims of the organization. 2.Critically analyse the Internal and External Environment for your chosen Organisation. Answers: 1.Founded in the year of 1970, Nippon Steel Sumitomo Metal Corporation has emerged to be the third largest steel producing organization in the entire world (Nssmc.com 2017). Nippon Steel Sumikin Engineering Co., Ltd. (NSENGI) with its more than 40 years experience, mainly in Southeast Asian projects, has laid many long-distance, large-diameter, high-pressure submarine pipelines for oil gas projects, which meet demanding requirements for high reliability.Considering the fact that the human resources are the most valuable management resources, the Nippon Steel Indonesia does employ a variety of impressive HR practices that helps the company enhance the skills of the employees and encourage them to demonstrate their ability. Hence, the present report intends to discuss and critically analyse the existent HR policies of the company, and offer recommendations, if any. As far as Nippon Steel is concerned, it has been created by merging two giant steel companies, Yawata Iron and Steel company and Fuji Iron and Steel Company. The company is known for offering a wide range of products including flat and long steel products, wire products, chemicals and plates. The company has been operating globally almost since its inception, and the total number of employees working here sum up to 60,508 (Nssmc.com, 2017). The importance of IHRM practices cannot be undermined, as it is the strategic way through which the Human Resource manager of an organization aligns organizational goals with employee benefits, motivating the staffs to work more dedicatedly towards the accomplishment of the organizational goal. Nippon Steel believes in enhancing the skills and expertise of the employees, so that they can embrace leadership roles in future in an effective way. Hence, Nippon Steel promote activities like the early work abroad experiences, study abroad opportunities in designated regions, and internal courses (Moriguchi 2014). Besides, the company offers skill training to its employees, especially the local, inexperienced and semi-skilled staffs of Indonesia, so that they can deliver high quality performance in future. This not only helps the company train its employees, but also enjoy employee loyalty. Those employees, who join the company as working staffs, if exhibit special potentialities, are being offered career growth opportunities as well, as they are enrolled in leadership programs at the expense of the company. The company also believes that in order to increase employee engagement at workplace, it is important to value the employees. Accordingly, the management authority of the company holds meetings with the employees, to assess the total annual working hours, and to reduce the same, if necessary. Besides, it is equally important to state here that that the company also promotes specific measures for the prevention of overwork, such as the establishment of bonus annual leave (approximately 10 days annually) and workload countermeasures in cooperation with a supervisor and / or industrial physician (Giarratani et al. 2013). Although the existent HR policies are indeed impressive, further recommendations can be advised. Since Nippon Steel is a steel manufacturing company, occupational injuries are common. The HR practice should include investment in the safety management system to reduce chances of occupational accidents. The company should also reduce its working hours, offer flexible work schedules and work from home facilities once a week (wherever applicable), and provide cultural training to its employees. These are the basic HRM strategies undertaken by the company in the international strategy. While speaking of HRM in the international setting, the basic function of the HR of the company is to offer intensive training to the expatriate employees, so as to enhance their linguistic skills as well as their cultural sensitivity in a foreign nation and an alien culture. Again, similarly, sufficient training is also being offered to the impatriate employees ho are coming from foreign lands in order to work under the host country, and consequently they must be made aware of the organizational culture prevalent in the host country. Another very important function of the IHRM at Nippon Steel is to offer sufficient compensation and lucrative incentive packages to the employees who are relocating to other locations, for the sake of the organization. Hence, the HR manager offers lucrative bonus as well as other financial benefits for shifting to the foreign location, though the % of salary increment depends on the country location and local market cost of living. In fact, as an import ant IHRM function, the company also offers allowances for cost of living, housing, food, recreation, personal care, clothing, education, home furnishing, transportation, and medical care. Other than this, the IHRM also is responsible for offering other allowances, and Nippon Steel, for example, offers home-leave allowances and relocation allowances. The HR manger, as part of an important IHRM function, also organizes meetings with the managers and CEOs of the different branch locations of the company, and ensures proper coordination amongst the different branches. Nippon Steel follows the ethnocentric IHRM model, whereby the managers as well as the technical workers working in different locations of the company are advised to follow the HRM practices of the home country only. 2.The performance of any organization is not only guided by the human resources or the financial resources, but also by the environment in which the organization operates in. As a strategic tool, the environmental analysis of an organization helps in identifying the internal and external elements that affect the performance of the company. Accordingly, the internal and external analysis of Nippon Steel is also being conducted as follows: Internal Environmental Analysis 3Generic Strategies: While analyzing the internal environment of Nippon Steel, it would be interesting to take note of the important generic strategies undertaken by the HR manger of Nippon Steel as part of its human resource management strategy. First of all, innovation as a strategic imperative of HR management is embraced by the management authority of Nippon Steel. In order to create dedicated employees, the company offers flexible working schedule to the employees, and offers 3 work from home facilities a week to the employees, that help in motivating the employees. As part of the organizational strategy, innovation is achieved by offering intensive communication and managerial training to the employees. However, the company is still mindful of its cost reduction strategy, and hence it does not offer training to the employees at free of cost. The employees are enrolled in a variety of professional training courses, on the completion of which they not only enjoy career growth opportunities but are al so offered certificates from recognized training centers. The employees can avail the courses at lower cost, as the company deducts a very small amount of money from the employees salary every month, so as to enhance their skills and expertise, without affecting the profitability of the company. Besides, innovation is an important key strategy of the company, and the operating strategies of the company are developed through interactions with its employees, customers, partners, vendors, suppliers and consultants. They review market trends and identify, through benchmarking, what is required to out-perform their competition. Every week, the HR organizes interactive sessions with the employees and stakeholders, in order to communicate the innovative strategies of the organization (Druker, 2014). Another important cost-reduction strategy adopted by the company is the introduction of a variety of expat packages. In other words, the company offers local or local plus packages for developm ent or volunteer assignments; expat lite is being used for moves in markets where talent is widely available or early localization is desirable; and full expatriate packages is being used for senior level executives and leadership positions. Quality is also an important generic strategy adopted by Nippon Steel. The company does offer career growth opportunities to all its employees, and in case of exceptionally taented employees, the company offer huge concessions on the training courses. Apart from personal motivation, much attention is also being paid to the infrastructural facilities such as the physical layout of the office, facilities, hardware and software, communication equipment, etc so that the employees can work in a very comfortable way. External Environmental Analysis PESTEL: Political Factors While operating in Indonesia, Nippon Steel will need to be well-aware of the political instability of the country and that as much as 22% of the people in Indonesia are presently living below the poverty line (Hassan 2015). Economic Factors Although Indonesia does enjoy a good inflow of FDI amounting to $67.3 billion, the country cannot be termed as an example of a strong economy. In the entire world, Indonesia ranks 157 in terms of the per capita income of the citizens, and it is still a developing nation (Waworuntu and Suryanto 2015). Social Factors The country enjoys a large population, a total of 240,271,522 populations which is growing at 1.13%. The prospects of sale of any product are higher here, given the higher consumption rate of a densely populated nation (Arifin 2016). Technological Factors The country does enjoy a very highly developed and effective transport and communication system. Environmental Factors The environmental laws are very strict mandating the use of energy efficient means of production. Demographic Factors Issues relating to access to health and education as well as rising inequality are the most pressing social challenges the Indonesian people are encountered with. Hence, it is advised that in order to gain competitive edge over the rival firms, a company should invest in social initiatives. The country has a patriarchal set up, which makes it difficult to entrust managerial duties to the women. From the above analysis, it is clear that Nippon Steel does have prospect in Indonesia, considering the dense population of the country. However, since it is still a developing nation, the company will need to reduce its operational cost and offer low cost products. Accordingly, as part of its cost reduction strategy, the company can hire the semi-skilled local workers, and train them to work efficiently, at low cost. In Indonesia FDI is restricted in most ofthe sectors and the business environment is not good because of persistent corruption and natural disaster, and hence it is advised that the company does not focus all its resources in Indonesia. It can manufacture its products mostly here, because of the cheap availability of raw materials and labour, and export the majority of the products to other parts of the world. However, the Indonesian market also assumes great importance since Frost Sullivan forecastsIndonesias vehicle sales to reach 1.1 million units in 2017, growing a t a rate of 5 per cent, and hence the company can expect a steady growth in the sale of steel sheets (Natsuda et al. 2015). Reference List: Arifin, B., 2016.Institutional constraints and opportunities in developing environmental service markets: lessons from institutional studies on RUPES in Indonesia. Bogor, Indonesia: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Drucker, P., 2014.Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge. Giarratani, F., Madhavan, R. and Gruver, G., 2013. Steel industry restructuring and location.Handbook of Industry Studies and Economic Geography, p.11. Hassan, M.K., 2015. The response of Muslim youth organizations to political change: HMI in Indonesia and ABIM in Malaysia.Islam and the Political Economy of Meaning: Comparative Studies of Muslim Discourse, pp.180-96. Jones, L., 2016. Explaining the failure of the ASEAN economic community: the primacy of domestic political economy.The Pacific Review,29(5), pp.647-670. Moon, H.C., Hur, Y.K., Yin, W. and Helm, C., 2014. Extending Porters generic strategies: from three to eight.European Journal of International Management,8(2), pp.205-225. Moriguchi, C., 2014. Japanese-style Human Resource Management and its historical origins.Japan Labor Review,11(3), pp.55-76. Natsuda, K., Otsuka, K. and Thoburn, J., 2015. Dawn of industrialisation? The Indonesian automotive industry.Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies,51(1), pp.47-68. Nssmc.com., 2017.Nippon Steel Sumitomo Metal Corporation. [online] Available at: https://www.nssmc.com/ [Accessed 13 Jun. 2017]. Waworuntu, S.R. and Suryanto, H., 2015. The Complementary Nature Of Fundamental And Technical Analysis Evidence From Indonesia.International Research Journal of Business Studies,3(2).

Western Civilization Humanism an Example of the Topic Psychology Essays by

Western Civilization Humanism The 1500s was an age defined by enlightenment and exploration. From Columbus, to Copernicus, to Michelangelo and Erasmus, all were great thinkers, artists and explorers who pushed the boundaries of human achievement and redefined our world in irrevocable ways. That the sixteenth century should be the period of the Renaissance or rebirth is not by accident. Man, after several hundred years of hibernation during the Middle Age, was ready for a renewal of spiritual and creative energies. Thus, this period in Western Civilization was marked by extraordinary advancements in the Arts and Sciences, achievements that would not have been possible without the resurgence of Humanism. Need essay sample on "Western Civilization Humanism" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed It might be said the Renaissance was the ultimate expression of Humanism, after the classical Greek civilization. While to most of us, Renaissance was defined by artistic heights, historians consider the Renaissance as a turning point, the period that marks the beginning of Modern History. After hundreds of years of stagnation, the world underwent upheavals that are rooted in the Renaissance principles of Humanism, or the principles of freedom and self-expression and the emphasis on human values and the return to classical learning. (Kristeller, 1990, p. 3) The Renaissance as inspired by the values of Humanism, upon liberating human though created a domino effect that made the Reformation and all the succeeding events thereafter possible. After all, you cannot make the colors disappear to one who has seen the light. Truth, once known, is a point of no return. As Burckhardt once said, Culture, as soon as it freed itself from the fantastic bonds of the Middle Ages needed a guide, and f ound one in the ancient civilization Both the form and the substance of this culture were adopted with admiring gratitude (1990, p. 123) So what exactly is Humanism? Norman refers to Humanism as a celebration of the qualities that make us human, perhaps also with the suggestion that recognizing these qualities can inspire us to use them to the full. (2004, 1) The ideals of humanism are firmly rooted on the magnificent accomplishments of ancient Greece and Rome. Humanists believe that Greek and Roman civilization defined the heights of human accomplishment, especially in terms of intellectual prowess, and as such, modern people can learn a lot by going back to that time. Humanism as a branch of academics focused on the study of the liberal arts such as Latin and Greek, philosophy, ethics, rhetoric, poetry, and history. The return to classical literature led The broad concept of Humanism makes it difficult to pigeonhole or define. The fact that Humanism is all about the search for truth makes the concept as elusive as truth itself. In this regard, because Humanism rejects blind adherence to an ideology or principle, and as such, supports scientific thinking. Similarly, Humanism argues that truth can only be arrived with consistent reasoning and constant desire to explore and discover. It proclaims that we are individually capable of going beyond our conceived limitations and achieve self-determination and self-actualization. Humanists believe that man is capable of choosing his destiny and determining the course of his own life. Wherever that journey takes us, whether to greatness or some other kind of life, is something that is entirely up to us and the choices that we make along the way. References: Burckhardt, Jacob. The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy. Trans by S. G. C. Middlemore. Contributor Peter Burke & Peter Murray. Penguin Classics. 1990. p. 123. Humanism: Beliefs and Practices By Jeaneane D. Fowler Published 1999 Sussex Academic Press Kristeller, Paul Oskar. Renaissance Thought and the Arts: Collected Essays. Princeton University. 1990. p. 3. Norman, R. (2004). On Humanism. Routledge