HRD assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

HRD assignment - Research Paper Example Introduction There are a range of evaluation theories that can confuse new practitioners and learners who intend to grasp on ways of evaluating programs. Examples of these evaluation theories include; goal free, empowerment, utilization- focused, and developmental (Lisa, 2006). The different forms of evaluation sprout from the same base of social accountability, social inquiry, and fiscal control (Valerie, 2004). From this base, evaluation orientations further branches out into three main areas; use, methods, and valuing. It is from these branches, various evaluation perspectives from various thought leaders get obtained. These perspectives get to offer learners and researchers on the various evaluation methods, their application, and how to align themselves with the evaluation orientation that best matches their program context or values (Darlene, 2008). It is vital that evaluators get to understand the cross cutting evaluation theories and terminology that is available for the stak eholders. It is vital that new and skilled evaluators get to determine and understand what the various evaluation theories or methods are for. Purpose of evaluation theories and methods Evaluation theory serves various purposes. However, its vital function is to act as a guide to practice. It is incomprehensible to learn on the latest methodological advancement without understanding the relevant evaluation theory concerned (Eleanor, 2013). This situation creates a scenario where evaluators get to learn what to do without understanding why or when to do what they do. It is vital that a good evaluator gets to understand the evaluation theories so that they can choose and employ the appropriate methods. Evaluation theories assist the evaluators past simply making good judgments on what kind of methods to employ but rather under what situations, and towards what kinds of evaluation influence. First off, evaluation theories help to bring back prior experience and thus consolidate lessons learned. Evaluation theories can help evaluators to posses a sophisticated and deep understanding of how organizations carry out their decisions and get influenced by evaluation findings (Lisa, 2006). Knowledge of the theories assists evaluators to learn from other people or organizations experiences. Evaluators who fail to grasp the knowledge of evaluation theories risk repeating past mistakes, which also leave them vulnerable to failure to sustaining and building on past successes. Secondly, the comparison of evaluation theories assists those in the field in determining and understanding the vital areas that illicit debate within the field. Through comparison of the evaluation theories, one gets to determine the gaps present within the field and how they affect their field. This comparative look at the evaluation theories assists evaluators to garner on what issues remains unsettled and elusive in their field of practice (Sung, 2002). Undertaking a look at the different theories present in the field assists the practitioners to obtain different perspectives on what the purpose of evaluation is or how it should get employed. Thirdly, it is vital that evaluators get to embody the knowledge of evaluation theories such that it becomes a part of their identity. Evaluation theory in its embodiment is the basis and core of becoming an evaluator (Valerie, 2004). The knowledge of ev

The status of trustees Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The status of trustees - Case Study Example The status of trustees In case there is a breach of trust on the part of the fiduciary, the beneficiary can move the court and claim damages. Another interesting concept that introduces itself when a case is filed is that of 'equity'. A lawsuit might entail just monetary claims as a part of the verdict. However, equity as a set of legal principles restrains or orders the execution of a certain action. Calling it a course of natural justice would not be an exaggeration. Many case histories citing breach of trust in fiduciary-beneficiary relationship abound the legal corridors. What is important to understand in this context is the way legal implications were enforced. There are examples that hold a fiduciary's position as such that he is liable to be punished, whatever may be intentions. There are some other cases where the fiduciary was exempted. The basis of each case of course was the peculiar circumstances as well as the moral and legal guidelines that influenced it. 'Boardman was solicitor to a trust, which owned 8,000 of 30,000 shares in a private textile company, with whose performance Boardman was dissatisfied. The trust had no wish to buy the remaining shares, and in any case was unable to buy them, although it could have applied to court for power to do so. Since a company’s Facebook page will reflect its business and what it stands for, the management must pay higher attention to creating and maintaining its brand page. To illustrate, the firm may set a cover photo that depicts the essence of its brand and quality of products/services offered. Boardman decided to purchase them himself, undoubtedly benefiting from information he had received as in his fiduciary capacity (in knowing what price to offer), and did not obtain the consent of all beneficiaries. The shares later increased in value (partly perhaps because of Boardman's management in selling off some of the assets of the newly acquired company), so Boardman made a large profit for himself. Additionally, however, because the trust still had a large share in the same company, his activities also resulted in a large profit for the trust. There was no claim of bad faith, nor any obvious conflict of interest, since the trust did not have the power to purchase the shares itself, and in any case, the trust had positively benefited from Boardman's intervention. In negotiating for the majority shareholding Boardman had, in good faith, obtained information in his capacity as solicitor to the trust, which he would not otherwise have obtained. Phipps,a beneficiary under the trust, sued for an account of profits.' 1 As per the specifications of the legal framework, if a fiduciary performs an action, which is injurious to the interests of the beneficiary and profits a rival in the process, the fiduciary ought to reimburse the losses. However, in this particular case, Boardman had bought the shares in a personal capacity and in no way incurred any kind of loss to the beneficiaries. An increase in the value of shares implied profit for the trust. A pro-fiduciary perspective would view this action as a case of constructive trust 2 . However the court stretched it too far taking into consideration the viewpoint of the beneficiary, who put a question mark on Boardman's role s the beneficiary. The

Gain an understanding of Marx and apply the work of the theorist to a Essay

Gain an understanding of Marx and apply the work of the theorist to a contemporary issue - Essay Example The club represented the intellectual avant-garde as it took a leading part in the Young Hegelian movement (Blumenberg 33). Marx eventually became a journalist, the end of his life spent in London in poverty. His works were not well known during his own lifetime. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher who was instrumental in the creation of the German Idealism. Dying in 1831, Hegel was part of the philosophical environment of the late 18th and early 19th century. Hegel developed theories about alienation but was confined to theorizing about alienation of consciousness. Marx was interested in Feuerbach who connected the theory to existence. Blumenberg (2000) quotes Marx as having said that Feuerbach â€Å"founded true materialism† by making â€Å"the social relationship of man to man the basic theory of his principle† and for having opposed Hegel’s mere â€Å"negation of the negation† with â€Å"the positive that has its own self for founda tion and basis† (58). In pursuing this area of inquiry, Marx developed his theories of revolution upon ’real humanism’ which â€Å"aims to overthrow capitalist society in order to realize the human essence† (Blumenberg 2000: 58). ... Feuerbach postulated that â€Å"it is anthropotheistic, the exclusive love of man for himself, the exclusive self-affirmation of the human-nature† (Churchich 1994: 260). The theory of alienation was explored as man alienates himself from his nature through the development of religion. Marx adapted this concept to his own theories of the proletariat. Intentions and Purposes Marx can be seen for his formation of the theory of a utopian society in which the true essence of being human can be revealed and lived. His calls for revolution are based upon a belief that the path on which commerce and industry was setting a course would be the end of true humanity. Marx posited his theories with the intention of condemning capitalism, an economic structure that he found to be damning to the human race. Marx intended to support his beliefs in Socialism; however, his work was not to be known during his own lifetime. Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts were not published until 1928, his o wn era not knowing much about his theories (Blumenberg 2000). Themes Most of what Marx is known for writing about is in terms of the role of the worker within a capitalist society. In his Theories of Alienation, Marx developed ideas about the nature of man, his need for understanding the purpose of his work and the intent. He discusses the way in which art is a natural part of the human experience, relating this human element to the way in which capitalism takes this from man in the industrialization of production as it is done for the purpose of providing profit to the owners. The interruption of management in the flow of gain from product creates another form of alienation in which the end benefit is not realized by the one who produces the product.

Nationalism And Sectionalism Essay Example for Free

Nationalism And Sectionalism Essay The Era of Good Feeling: The Effects and Consequences of Nationalism and Sectionalism In 1815, shortly before the start of James Monroe’s presidency and after the War of 1812, a historical period known as the â€Å"Era of Good Feeling† commenced in America. However, though the name of this age alone insinuated a time of unity and prosperity within the nation, sectionalism became an unequivocal dilemma that seeped through the government’s attempts in promoting nationalism, and ultimately divided the country. The Era of Good Feeling was a time where only one political party reigned, sense of unity prevailed, and national pride was evident within the citizens. This post ­war nationalism fueled the country to work towards a common goal, and even encouraged creation of traditions that would be passed down generations. The McCulloch v. Maryland case in 1819 exhibits government’s attempt in putting up a unified front to further promote nationalism. In this case, the Congress’ power is questioned when the ruling prevented states from outlawing or taxing the national bank, as Maryland tried to do. The document states, â€Å"The power of the general government, it has been said, are delegated by the states, who alone are truly sovereign† (Document 4). However, the outcome of the case only came to show that the federal government had more power compared to the state government, and thus portrayed a stronger, unified system. In Document 3, people are portrayed to be celebrating Independence Day on the fourth of July within the same year of the case. This depicts the effect that national pride had, bringing together multiple races, genders, social classes, and age groups to celebrate the country’s independence. Furthermore, this era also brought forth a fundamental period in Am erica known as the Industrial Revolution. This introduced market economy to the population and transitioned America to manufacturing processes that brought economic benefits to the north. Market economy not only changed the way people worked, but also the way they lived, as it divided labor, based work in factories, and opened new markets like the American Fur Company. Due to the prior Embargo Act, merchants also invested in national local manufacturing, and thus allowed for the rapid development of urban districts and increase in population. It brought wealth to the North’s market ­based economy but contradicted with the South’s focus on an agricultural economy that depended on slaves. One of the most significant developments within the country was introduced shortly after the War of 1812, by politician Henry Clay, as the American System. The plan promoted a system in which the South was seen to be the producer of raw goods, North for the manufacturing, while the West as the breadbasket of the country. It consisted of three parts: the development of canals, road systems and railroads, creation of a protective tariff, and the reinstating of the Bank of U.S.. The North prospered from the creation of the tariff as it helped develop the manufacturing economy. The West, on the other hand, benefitted from the creation of road and canal system, a plan supported by John C. Calhoun, in order to prevent disunion within the rapidly growing country, (Document 2). These developments in transportation allowed for easier distribution of goods, thus benefitting them as well. However, the protective tariff prevented the South’s economy from growing, thus leading to an evident economic gap between the North and the South, as the former’s economy started to boom due to the increase in manufacturing.

Film :: essays papers

Film Legalization: A Debate In the United States today, there is much controversy about the legalization of certain drugs. In a book written by Eliot Marshal entitled Legalization: A Debate, he talks about such circumstances. Not only does he just talk about the U.S., but the laws on drugs around the world. â€Å"Laws regulating drug use vary widely from country to country. In Malaysia, for example, substance abuse is a violation of religious law and drug trafficking is automatically punished by death. In Nepal, by contrast, the government not only tolerates the use of psychoactive substances but collects taxes on the drug trade. Policies concerning drug abuse in the United States lie somewhere between these two extremes and are constantly changing as evidence concerning the dangers and consequences of drug use accumulates.† In the book, the talk about Prohibition comes up. The author writes, â€Å"In time, Prohibition came to be seen not just as a failure but as a desperate and foolish mistake. Today, many people who oppose controls on â€Å"recreational† drugs - particularly controls on marijuana - cite Prohibition as evidence that it is futile to try to outlaw a popular intoxicant. The heart of this argument is that, even if it was desirable in theory, prohibition cannot be carried out in practice. People will find a way to get what they want, the argument goes, and outlawing a drug merely sends drug seekers into an illegal black market.† Another chapter in the book, which is discussed by the author, is Illicit Drugs as Medicine. The author talks about a man named Robert Randall. Robert Randall is a man who can just walk into a pharmacy and pick up a prescription that contains about 300 neatly packed marijuana cigarettes. He had taken this idea all the way to the court as being â€Å"marijuana therapy†. The marijuana is cultivated on a farm run by the federal government in Mississippi and processed under federal government. He had said that the marijuana eased the pain caused by his illness known as glaucoma. Glaucoma, is a progressive disease of the eye and optic disc that often results in blindness. Randall does not have to pay for the marijuana, because the government does not want to put itself in the awkward position of selling marijuana, an illegal activity. Marijuana has also been proven to help out other illnesses. For example, marijuana has been proven useful in preventing the nausea and vomiting com mon in cancer patients treated with strong chemicals and radiation.

Luxury Brand Engagement Research Write Up Essay

Brand Management is a function of marketing that uses techniques to increase the perceived value of a product line or brand over time. Effective brand management enables the price of products to go up and builds loyal customers through positive brand associations and images or a strong awareness of the brand. Developing a strategic plan to maintain brand equity or gain brand value requires a comprehensive understanding of the brand, its target market and the company’s overall vision. Brand engagement is a term loosely used to describe the process of forming an attachment (emotional and rational) between a person and a brand. It comprises one aspect of brand management. What makes the topic complex is that brand engagement is partly created by institutions and organizations, but is equally created by the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours of those with whom these institutions and organizations are communicating or engaging with. Brand engagement between a brand and its consumers/potential consumers is a key objective of a brand marketing effort. In general, the ways a brand connects to its consumer is via a range of â€Å"touch points† — that is, a sequence or list of potential ways the brand makes contact with the individual. Examples include retail environments, advertising, word of mouth, online, and the product/service itself. It can be broadly classified into two areas- Internal and external. Internal refers to the company’s employees, franchisees, etc while external refers to the end consumers. All the consumer behavioural factors like attitudes, beliefs, society, culture and trends are studied and form an interesting part of the study unlike many other areas of research. All these factors are psychological yet emotional and drive consumer behaviour towards brands ultimately leading to sales and higher revenues. Getting there requires convincing less conscious consumers that they can have their cake and eat it too (drive positive change and indulge their needs), and teaching them to choice-edit for the most personal, planetary and societal impact. Customer involvement starts from the personal basic perspectives of goals, values, and self-awareness. Depending on the relevance of these to individuals, they are reflected in decision-making behaviours. Different product attributes cause different degrees of involvement in consumer minds. These differences of involvement result in differences when consumers make purchase decisions. Therefore, when consumers perform consuming behaviours, the extent of their involvement affects purchase intention and this is only reflected when a deeper understanding of their psychological and emotional factors is attained. It relates at an emotional level and ensures long term sustainability, revenue and growth for the brand. One of the most significant sectors where brand management plays an even more important role is Luxury. Luxury as a concept is defined within the scope of socio-psychology as a result of its connection to a culture, state of being and lifestyle, whether it is personal or collective. When linked to brands, it is characterised by a recognisable style, strong identity, high awareness, and enhanced emotional and symbolic associations. It evokes uniqueness and exclusivity, and is interpreted in products through high quality, controlled distribution and premium pricing. These core factors have led to the development of a $180 billion global industry with an uninterrupted growth for over two decades. These elements have also led to the summarisation of luxury as a ‘dream’, leading to justifiable curiosity and interest. Luxury good manufacturers offer high quality products at higher prices. At times, the quality of the actual product may not actually be very different from the low cost one, however, the brand value attached to it is high. It is for this reason that the branded product still sells at a higher price. The customer, though buys the product, actually pays for the brand. He pays for the emotional/ psychological/ physiological need that he has been able to satiate through this purchase. Also, it is worth noting that building a luxury brand can be a very tough task. It has to have the right value of consumer behavioural/ attitudinal compatibility mix for it to achieve its purpose owing to the high costs. Brand Managers for luxury products cannot over advertise their product (devalues the image) and not under advertise their product (loss in enquiries/ revenue). This interesting amalgamation of business drivers and human behaviour forms a motivating and challenging topic for research studies. Brand value measures the economic asset value of a company or product brand. It details how much of the company’s operating income and free cash flow is derived from the brand, the influence of the brand within each consumer purchase decision driver, and the associated brand risks. By linking the brand to the economics of the business at a detailed level, brand value opens the door to a number of useful applications like proving that branding offers real value, justify a proposed marketing budget, align the commercial organization, evaluate acquisition opportunities, optimal royalty rate, optimize the brand relationship to best tell the brand story, focus investments, drive higher prices, leverage brand value to lower taxes, reduce turnover and quantify the damage. It is very intriguing when we look at the financial output of the brands, grouping the companies into two categories of highly and least engaged in brand engagement. The companies who were highly engaged grew on an average of 18% in revenues over the last 12 months, compared to the least engaged companies who on average saw a decline of 6% in revenue during the same period. The same holds true for two other financial metrics, gross margin and net profit. Interbrand was recently involved in brand valuation with respect to business and the approach used is as follows:Snapshots of couple of models or indexed used has by different organizations to measure brand engagement has given under the research design section. Consumer buying behavior has changed a tremendously over the last decade and below is the Worldwide Personal Luxury Goods Market Trend (this has been discussed in detail in the industry literature review at the end) to illustrate the fact:Third year in a row of double-digit growth for the personal luxury goods market: over the 200â‚ ¬B threshold! There are various challenges that brands face over the course of their engagement tactics. The brand’s core thought or value should be in sync with the target audience. If it’s not, then there is no engagement at an emotional level. For a consumer to be engaged with the brand, he has to continuously be bombarded with the brand’s advertising or communication through various mediums. This process is very costly to the organisation as it involves various media channels and every channel (print, digital, TV, etc) has its own rate structure. The competition in every industry has further caused problems for any brand to create its importance. The consumer mind space is cluttered with messages from different brands making it even more difficult for a particular brand to register itself. Even if a consumer gets engaged, there’s no specific tool to measure the impact of the engagement on the final sales/ profits of the brand. The huge costs therefore become difficult to justify. Competition is fierce in developed economies and consumers are bombarded with offers, many of which are very similar. In such a setting, differentiation is vital and academic research has revealed that brands can build sustainable competitive advantage by increasing customer loyalty and fostering personal recommendation. However, to achieve such a sustainable competitive advantage, brands need to go beyond their traditional focus on communication and advertising and become the key to integrated client experience management. In such a scenario, it becomes even more important to build a brand that is strong in its values. It involves designing campaigns to generate intention to purchase and top of the mind awareness, various metrics to measure the effectiveness of brand campaigns, retuning parameters, redesigning the campaign and measuring the metrics again till the time the campaign reaches its desired GRPs (gross rating points). A very interesting real life example of how a brand faces a situation when it’s present engagement measures don’t work and it has to continuously make new efforts to ensure engagement with consumers is illustrated in a research paper titled ‘Luxury Brand Exclusivity Strategies’ which can be visited through this link – URL: http://dx. oi. org/10. 5430/jbar. v1n1p106. It examines how luxury fashion brands renew themselves in order to balance the exclusivity that is associated with luxury goods and with profit maximization. Using consumers’ demand theory it is shown how luxury fashion brands go through different phases to renew the perce ption of exclusivity.

A Day in the Life of Brent Dorsey

1. What alternatives are available to Brent in regards to the audit of payables? What are the pros and cons of each alternative? a. One alternative that Brent go do is ask the accountant from Northwest Steel Producers to pull the needed invoices and have them ready in a reasonable time period for review. By doing this it would save Brent time from searching for specific invoices and leave him more time to focus on other audit issues. b. Brent could do as subjected and only pull a minimum amount and take the change of being caught.The pros of this would be that Brent would be able to complete the accounts payable a little sooner but the cons would be that the audit would not be complete and the audit report could have the possibility of not be accurate. I would not recommend this alternative. c. Brent could audit all the payables as required and follow the AICPA regulations. The pros would be that Brent has not violated any regulations and would maintain his job and maintained his eth ical responsibilities. The cons would be that Brent would have to work harder and spend more time working and less time with his wife. . What consequences for Brent, the auditing firm, and others involved, may arise from â€Å"eating time,† as Scott suggested? Similarly, what consequences for Brent, the auditing firm, and others involved, may arise from not completing audit procedures, as Megan suggested? The consequences from â€Å"eating time† as Scott suggested would cause production reports to be incorrect and also would suggest that in the future the CPA firm could possibly perform the audit on a tighter schedule next year.Now if Brent was to follow Megan’s suggestion the auditing firm would not be providing the audit review that is expected and the audit report would be considered incomplete. 3. In your opinion, which of Brent’s alternative courses of action would provide the best outcome and why? What should Brent do? How would you handle the ethic al issues involved in this situation? I feel that Brent’s alternative course of action of calling it a night now and going home and spending time with his wife then getting up early in the morning and going at it again would be the best choice of action based on the alternatives that have been presented.The ethical issues involved in this situation is to not perform the audit under expectations because he is unhappy on the choices he has been given and the choice that has been made. 4. What could John Peters and the other auditors do to better handle the demands of career and family life? John Peters and the other auditors could hire some other associates to provide assistance in the audits which would relieve some of the demands of career and leave more time with family life.