Inside Toyland - 1266 Words

Inside Toyland, written by Christine L. Williams, is a look into toy stores and the race, class, and gender issues. Williams worked about six weeks at two toy stores, Diamond Toys and Toy Warehouse, long enough to be able to detect patterns in store operations and the interactions between the workers and the costumers. She wanted to attempt to describe and analyze the rules that govern giant toy stores. Her main goal was to understand how shopping was socially organized and how it might be transformed to enhance the lives of workers. During the twentieth century, toy stores became bigger and helped suburbanization and deregulation. Specialty toy stores existed but sold mainly to adults, not to children. Men used to be the workers at toy†¦show more content†¦In line at Toy Warehouse, White women will often display there impatience at having to wait in line by rolling their eyes at other White people trying to see a sign of recognition that he service they were receiving was i nferior because most of the cashiers were African-American women. Another example of White privilege was when an African-American manager was training Williams and customers were getting irritated. They elbowed themselves up to the counter and told Williams to call someone else up to the register. When Williams told them that she was the one being trained, the women seemed embarrassed by their presumption. Male privilege was also a problem. At Diamond Toys when men would come into the store to shop, they expected everyone to help them at the drop of a hat. One man got angry because they could not find the upc code for a Barney sippy cup and made Williams call the store director and he told both of them what he thought of store operations. He then threatened to write up a critique and submit it to a business journal for publication unless they sold him the sippy cup. Other men did things that they were told not to, like use the phone and others still would bring in lists and expect t he workers to go get the toys for him like at Toy Warehouse. Inside Toyland tells us about the power in our society by showing us who has the buying power. White middle to upper class White people have the power and that is who shapes what goesShow MoreRelatedInside Toyland by Christine L. Williams Essay1262 Words   |  6 PagesInside Toyland, written by Christine L. Williams, is a look into toy stores and the race, class, and gender issues. Williams worked about six weeks at two toy stores, Diamond Toys and Toy Warehouse, long enough to be able to detect patterns in store operations and the interactions between the workers and the costumers. She wanted to attempt to describe and analyze the rules that govern giant toy stores. Her main goal was to understand how shopping was socially organized and how it might be transformedRead MoreAnalysis Of The Article Geeks On The World s Biggest Startup By Brendan Koerner Essay860 Words   |  4 PagesAfter reading the article â€Å"Geek s in Toyland† by Brendan Koerner, I realized the importance of organizational culture to connect the customers to the company. This article talks about the corporate culture and leadership style of Soren Lund (Mindstorms product director). He was asked to come up with a new version which is not a ‘slightly improved’ model, but to create something completely different. Each company has their own corporate culture. During my research, I came across a similar article thatRead More Ordeal by Cheque: The life of Jr Essay2999 Words   |  12 Pagesnothing to worry about. Still, the parents worried, because parents can tell. Jr, as everyone called him, was very quiet as a baby and never had big reactions to things. Everyone said he was just quiet. His parent brought him gifts from California Toyland, but they soon figured out that he was happy with just staring at something or handling a small object. When he reached 6, his father enrolled him in Palisades School for bo ys. Jr excelled in all of his classes except art and handwriting. Jr’s 3rdRead More Barbie - A Complex American Icon Essay3507 Words   |  15 Pagesportrayed good mothers as having elegant, spotless homes. To achieve this ideal, women spent most of their â€Å"free time† doing housework. Douglas explains that â€Å"women like my mother were in an untenable position. They worked all the time, yet their work inside and outside the home was taken for granted and poorly valued.†13 Douglas continues tracing this pattern of mixed messages using such varied examples as Police Woman, which featured a woman as a cop who always needed to be rescued by her male counterpartsRead MoreToy Retailing in India7399 Words   |  30 Pagesyour neighbourhood) 9) How would you decide( keeping what factors in mind ) the location of a store in a particular mall? References 7. DSN Retailing Today, Feb 2004 8. DSN Retailing Today, Sep 2004 9. Inside Toyland – Working, Shopping and Social Inequality, Christine L. Williams 10. Why People Buy Things They Don’t Need, Pamela N. Danzinger 11. The battle in India s toy market, Jan 2006, Rediff News 12. Business Line, Jun 2008

Cell Phone Evolution Good and Bad - 1252 Words

Cell Phone Evolution: Good and Bad Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the world has become a smaller and faster place. The time used to travel to far distances has decreased. The growth of new technologies, traveling and communicating has become simple daily tasks for many people. Through the growth of global communication, people have become closer to others across the globe, and business has gone world wide. One invention that came along with the technological revolution is the Cell Phone. Cell phones allow us to be reachable anywhere at anytime, letting us communicate even while traveling. As time becomes more valuable for people, the importance of accessibility to communication also increases. As with many things, new†¦show more content†¦When I report to work I get issued a cell phone and my patient assignment. We still have a little ways to go to catch up with the other countries but we are closing ground fast. All the new phones and headsets have brought all concern about possible medical problems. New reports continue to come in and are displayed all over the internet of the possibility of cell phones being linked to brain tumors. It is true that cell phones have electromagnetic radiation. A major study carried by scientists in Finland discovered that radiation that comes from cell phones cause activity in human cells in a laboratory (Laurier). They further state that these changes could weaken the functioning of the brains protective shield against harmful substances. These changes damaged the blood-brain barrier which protects the brain from harmful substances. An Australian study has linked cell phones to higher rate of brain cancer. A Swedish study suggests that using a mobile phone for more that 15 minutes could lead to headaches and fatigue. The European countries use Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) to detect how much radiation is given off. (Attached are SAR levels for US p hones) Nokia has taken lead and patent for a shield layer between the antenna and the user to reduce the irradiation. The US has a different outlook on cell phones. The Federal Communications Commission agrees with the National Radiological ProtectionShow MoreRelatedTechnology and Social Changes1225 Words   |  5 PagesTechnology and Social Change Veronica Garcia February 22,2016 SOC/100 Lynn Ma Technology and Social Change Technology is the scientific knowledge of making tools in order t solve problems that are very specific. Automobiles, airplanes, cell phones, computers and the radio are examples of technological advances. These advancements have helped revolutionize the way people interact, meet, and conduct business. The increase of technology provides an influx of storage and retrieval, and in returnRead MoreCellphones and effects on society1268 Words   |  6 Pagesadvances every day and surely cellular phones are revolutionizing the XXI Century. New mobile devices contain most of the functions of a computer, better known as smart phones. They also give you the opportunity to stay in touch with whom you wish to and also you can take pictures, listen to music, and most significantly, it connects you with the rest of the world through the network. But have you ever stopped and think, how much time you spend using your phone, and how so often you check it? And withoutRead MoreMobile Technology Is An Imperative Industry Today1188 Words   |  5 PagesEvery aspect of ordinary life in developed countries depends on cell phones: the freedom to change social plans on a whim, relying on GPS (Global Positioning System) to navigate people to unfamiliar destinations, and most of all raising productivity expectations to a staggering standard. Its invention came about to serve specific communication purposes; the initial pioneers in this field underestimated the massive impact, good and bad, mobile technology would have on society leading into the 21stRead MoreEssay about Society Is Over Reliant On Technology600 Words   |  3 PagesBlackberry or any kind of smart phone has the opportunity to look up any question they have, from simply typing in a related phrase into a search engine. Any time of day, provided there is service; Information is readily available. Technology has grown at an alarming rate; with smart cars, cells phones, computers that can operate with just the use of y our eyes. It is an extraordinary leap from the cave man era but, it’s been said too much of a good thing can be bad. As we become slaves to technologyRead MoreEffects of Technology925 Words   |  4 Pageslives. As new generations develop, new technological devices continue to develop as well. Some believe that technology has had a good impact in our lives like Richard Woods. Others like me believe that technology brings a lot of negative effects to our personal and social lives as Sarah Kershaw mentions. We now depend on technology, which affects us and causes us to get bad habits. Technology has caused addiction to the internet, depression, isolation, anxiety, loss of job, marital difficulties andRead MoreHow Technology has Changed Our Lives1374 Words   |  5 PagesToday there are kids getting cell phones, laptops, iPads, etc†¦ that thirty years ago it was new technology and that it was for business use. In the last ten or so years cell phones have become very popul ar and a norm. Cell phones have made it easier for people to be and stay in contact with each other rather than have a land line phone. With cell phones becoming more and more popular, there will be issues that will have to be fixed or solutions to help prevent anything bad to happen. One issue thatRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effects On Society1632 Words   |  7 Pageseither in favour of the advancement in technology or some are against its progression arguing that people have become too reliant. Cellphones are one of the main forms of technology that people talk about most, questioning whether they are a good thing or bad. Many people are also concerned with the advancement in video games, worrying that video games are the cause of crime and violence. What hasn’t been talked about much is the progression in cloning and the growing of human organs in pigs, whetherRead MoreMobile Phones And Its Impact On Our Lives Today951 Words   |  4 Pages they come with security risk s. Let’s look at them shall we? Cell phones today, having once been simple mobile phones that we can carry in our pockets, have long since evolved into full-fledged touch screen computers that we take with us everywhere. But the modern smart phones of today share one define characteristic with their ancestors, and that is that they are portable. This singular characteristic is in large part why cell phones have become so prevalent in today’s society. Whereas once uponRead MoreAre We Becoming Technological Zombies?1548 Words   |  7 PagesAccording to the scholarly article Information Technology within Society’s Evolution: Society is based on communications, this means that every huge change that humanity has experienced derives from a technological discovery related to communications. Language and writing as the first communication techniques, have been followed by a series of technologies, such as printing, telephone, radio, television internet and cell phones, which are nowadays smarter than ever. (Rodriguez, Busco, Flores 70).Read MoreSocial Media s Grip On Society941 Words   |  4 Pagesnot been around forever. In fact, even more surprising is the realization that people did not really even have or use cell phones almost twenty years ago, and in those days cell phones were only used for calling. We have come a long way. Now, the whole world is in the palm of our hands, or in our cars, or on our wrists. Possibly the greatest thing to come out of this drastic evolution is social media. Social media is where everyone can keep up with family, check in with friends, and share their big

Governance in Globalisation World Process of Political System

Question: Describe about the Governance in Globalisation World for Process of Political System. Answer: Introduction: The long process of globalisation has been strictly associated with the process of an international political system. It has been observed that the first explanation interprets globalisation as an expansion of Europe and the other most powerful states. According to the opinion of Claessens and Fan (2011), the political unification of the world is the product of the exportation of the rules and regulations of the European states system to the whole planet. The wide-ranging presentation of the process of expansion of the European International Society has been transformed to the Asian country. The notion of globalisation is completely different and independent for the different conditions. Considering the opinion of Genberg (2016), the corporate governance can be a high agenda issue in the different leading countries. Thus, it needs improvement and transparency for both the financial and the non-financial information. The corporate governance is a set of legal implications that provide guiding principle to the company in a controlled and directed approach. The corporate governance is required to fulfil the goals and objectives in a way that append to the value of the enterprise. The financial investors considered as a significant fraction of the equity in the European and Asian companies. The investors often described as fleeting and myopic owners with no incentives for involving into the ascendancy. Such financial institutes potentially assess the monitoring and fining of managerial discretion. However, Claessens and Fan (2011) argued that the institutional contribution in corporate governance is bound to be reflexive either due to uneven or transitory ownership. The involvement of the financial investors in corporate governance has an undeviating tolerance on the agency costs resulted from the severance of tenure and control. The study will show how the institutional investors are influentially handling the formulation of the corporate governance of the companies. The current study attempts to evaluate the contemporary governance practices and the associated issues. The issues like Do you think there is a role to be played by institutional investors in corporate governance? Discuss concerning two corporate governance systems i.e. Anglo, Continental Europe and Asia has been chosen to conduct the study. In the context of the current scenario, the two governance system such as Continental Europe and Asia has been considered to evaluate the contemporary corporate governance practices. Contemporary international context of the issue: Institutional investors contribute as active participation in formulating the business governance of the companies. Many influential factors decide the extent of vigorous contribution by the financial investors. Well oriented corporate governance is a function of substantial shareholding and offers an effective legal fortification (www.adb.org, 2016). There is a shared association between the collective management of companies and the institutional investors. The world bank projected a rigid structure for corporate governance where the investors have the incentives for participating in various processes (europa.eu, 2016). The procedures include taking part in ethical decision making aspects, transparency, appraisal and evaluation of the companies. A subsequent survey showed that institutional investors paid and participated at an average of 20-27% in the companies of Asian countries and 18-22% in Europe. Majorly, the institutional shareholders do not play a proactive function in sell ing the shares of the company. Besides, such participation may lead to a drop in the stock prices, which affect the marketplace. Considering the opinion of Bianchi (2014), the dissatisfaction of the investors with the board can allow the investors to either exit or voice the issues and restrain the dissatisfaction. The shareholders also have the power to sell the part due to dissatisfaction. Although, selling the shareholding is not viable for most of the investors due to the policy of holding an actual portfolio. The investor's possibility to exert the important control on the companies has an obvious implication for corporate governance (corporategovernanceasia.info, 2012). The implications are concerning maintaining the standards of the corporate governance and issues apprehensive with enforcement. The Combined Code (2006) principles stated some aspects concerning the role of investors in corporate governance. These are stated as follows:- Discourse with companies The institutional investors could have a particular dialogue session with the management of the businesses to build a clarification in the organisational objectives. Assessment of governance revelation While analysing the companies' governance arrangements, especially the measures of board structure and symphony, the investors need to give importance to all the aspects. This process is done to draw the attention towards all the factors that might create a problem in future. The voting power of the investors The institutional shareholders have an important responsibility of making a judicious use of the ballot rights. The extent to which investors hold power in corporate governance depends on upon the number of shares the investors possess. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) started a corporate governance program in Asia and Europe to build a role framework for the institutional investors (www.oecd.org, 2011). The program made on IFC's work in the field of corporate governance in Caucasus, Central Asia, Russian Federation, Southern Europe and Ukraine. Within Europe's and Asia's private sector, there is a broad range of legal forms that exists in organisations. Each of the industries faces different problems on such regulations. Thus, specific codes are assigned to each of the industries to adopt the best practices of the corporate governance (Filatotchev, 2007). In Europe and Asia, there is a significant difference between investor ownership pattern and engagement practices. The difference exists in the field of share concentration, share ownership patterns, control-augment mechanisms and the extent of investor's activities. The concentrated ownership has great and positive implications. According to Genberg (2016), the control of shareholders is keener to implement a long-term attitude compared to other investors. The shareholders can insulate the company from the adverse effects of fluctuations in share market and the monetary cycles. The reports show that in some of the Asian companies, the investors do not use the rights properly. The activism of the investors in Asia is comparatively small, which reflect that there is a lack of improvement in corporate governance. As per the opinion of Gui (2015), the institutional investors always demand superior transparency and accountability. The investors if play a proactive role, then can become a significant part of the rating of corporate governance. This activity could raise the standards of such management. According to the drafts paper of World Bank, the investors consciously place the welfare of the beneficiaries against the interests of managers and CEO. The investors most of the time act in a way that best serves the interests of the company's shareholders. The financial institutions can help a company in formulating good corporate governance in the following ways:- Enhance the operational performance, competence and profitability Establish a long-term value that can grow in a sustainable way. Develop and implement the various corporate strategies and can provide a meaningful direction. Ascertain clear roles and responsibilities along with the accountabilities. Forecast and handle the risks in venturing into a new deal. The investors can exert a pull on an enormous amount of capital and afford investments. Assist in developing business partners. Construct and help to maintain the reputation and trust. The supremacy of the institutional investors, which are cited above cannot be avoided, and the influence that the investors yield is enormous. These investors can somehow get diversification in the views by the effect of other investment institutions. The insurance companies and other pension funds constitute the large institutional investors that belong to two or more envoy bodies. These bodies act as a professional group who voice on the views about the issues. According to the opinion of Jhunjhunwala (2016), it is feasible for the institutional investors to take a combined action against the face of poor corporate performance. Many pieces of evidence show that the involvement of the financial institutes has increased over the last few decades. The involvement rises in respond to the stress from many companies for institutions to play a more vigorous role. The financial institutes show reluctant towards the organisations only when there is a real verification of collapse. The corpo rate governance is, however, significantly subjective by the legal systems of the important countries. Thus, the institutional investors dynamically engage in formulating the corporate governance is fully based on the legal implications of the country in which the company exists. Corporate governance knowledge, practice and theories A master in Corporate Governance intends to provide knowledge about planning, implementation and follow-up of corporate practices and the strategies. This process helps the business unit to learn the ethical practices and the other operational techniques to achieve the higher standards of corporate behaviour. In the opinion of Bianchi (2014), there are two factors which can be helpful to drive the trends that are regulation and market forces. The European law and the corporate governance of the country are going forward above the prospect. The corporate governance models in Europe contain an explicit knowledge regarding the practices of corporate governance in Europe. Adding to this, the explicit knowledge of the European government offers a great potential to preserve the value of creation and the other reliability constraints. Considering the view of Attig et al. (2009), the knowledge of the corporate governance has helped to develop the European Convergence model to formulate a va luable integration. Thus, the multinational corporations (MNCs) of European country have major forces in the global financial system (www.europa.eu, 2016). It has been observed that the extraordinary growth of the institutional investors in Europe has mandated the pension commitments which would be fully funded by the segregated pools of assets. According to the opinion of Genberg (2016), in December 2012, the European Commission introduced an Action Plan that unites both the corporate law and the corporate governance. Adding to this, the European Court of Justices case law has a far impact on the free movement of the different corporations in the European Union. In the Asian country, there are a large number of institutional investors currently operating in the different countries (www.corporategovernanceasia.info, 2016). It has been speculated that the corporate governance has also facilitated to increase the actions in the context of the business operation. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Asian countries is determining the corporate governance practices. The OECD principles followed in the Asian countrie s bounded to decide the operational activity in terms of business development and growth. According to the view of Cheung and Chan (2014), in Asian countries, the corporate governance of the majority of the organisation is directly governed by the clause 49 and the listing agreements. For an example, the SEBI and the Ministry of Company Affairs are governed the corporate governance of most of the Indian organisations (www.adb.org, 2016). The Companies Act is the other regulation of practices followed by the Asian organisation to protect the shareholder value. The corporate governance frameworks are elaborated from the legal, regulatory and institutional environments of a large economic context. It has been identified that the European Corporate Governance models have a big separation between the ownership and the organisation control. For an example, Khan (2006) mentioned that the set of legal sets and the set of corporate finance is completely different from the set of rules and regulations. In the European market, the corporate governance of different organisation has incorporated a common set of policies and the procedures. According to the opinion of Li et al. (2006), The European Commission has modernised the company law and enhance the corporate governance in the European Union Plan. Furthermore, the substantial direct investment in foreign countries and the deeper integration of the EU has preserved a passive financial portfolio. The single market compels European management is located in the different countries to embrace the mark et and all the multiple strategic options. As per the view of Mallin (2008), the recent theory in corporate governance states that the corporation has to internalise the market in the case of transactional market failure. It has been found that this technique would be helpful to retain the monopolistic advantages of the business in across the international borders. In this current context, Filatotchev et al. (2007) cited that the regional concentar4tion of sales starts from MNCs both in the Asian and European countries. As per the microeconomic theory, the firm is a boundary with internationalised exchanges. The aims of the microeconomic theory are to penetrate the business into a larger business environment. This helps lead the market corporations and the other interactional operations. According to the opinion of Alattom et al. (2013), the advantages of the microeconomic theory is that it helps corporate governance of Europe and Asia to establish the strongest advocates of the sta ndardised market strategies. Depending on the strategy of the corporate governance, it can be inferred that the corporations usually achieves the benefits from the different social, economical and the other regulatory business environments. Adding to this, the Foreign Institutional Investors have the right to vote while taking the organisational decisions. According to the view of Attig et al. (2009), the institutional investors have the similar equitable treatment like the shareholder to take part in the organisational decisions making an approach. The Board of Directors and the Audit Committee has conducted to take the financial decisions in the Asian country. In the addition, it has been observed that the Institutional Investors of the both continents are currently involved in the proactive role to maintain the value of the corporate governance. Considering the opinion of Bianchi (2014), the fiasco has been avoided with an effective institutional investor activism for upholding the values of the corporate governance. As per the report of World Banks Draft paper, the institutional investors have to consciously put the interests of the recipient before the interests of the Assistant Managers and the Chief Executive Off icers (CEO), etc. Moreover, the personnel have to act in a proper way which would be best serves the interests of the organisational shareholders. Recent Government, business, industry and organisational example The companies of European and Asian countries require a panel of directors in formulating the corporate governance along with the institutional investors. The institutional investors manage a huge part of the wealth that range from a capital stock, which is equal to 81% of GDP in Germany to 191% in the US and UK (John et al. 2016). From the reports, it is visible that there is a European Investment Bank (EIB), which is jointly working with the European government. This bank provides loans to the European companies and assists in the various growth and developmental activities. The main aim of this bank is to increase the employment opportunities which results in the growth of the country. This bank also wants to incorporate the companies of other nations to promote the EU policies. Similarly, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) also provides technical support to the companies of developing member countries. The EIB and ADB provide 90% of loans to the companies within the territories. Th e banks borrow money on the capital marketplace and lend to the countries on some rigid and favourable terms. These requirements are based on the stated objectives of the banks or other financial institutes. From the survey of Khan (2006), there is a change in the orientation of investor's values in formulating the corporate governance in some European car companies. The reduced value of such investors resulted in the fallen prices of shares of the companies. The EIB lends to the companies of all sizes. The role of the bank is very constructive in developing various aspects of the companies. The aspects include providing advice and technical assistance to the clients for maximisation of the values of money. Both the banks take part in decision making processes along with the board of directors of the managements. According to LI (2006), these banks keep a close eye in the performances of the client companies by employing a special audit committee. The financial institutions demand promotional aspects from the companies. For public or government organisations, the financial institutes of Europe and Asia provide easy loans. The banks do not show much involvement in corporate governance in the case of well- developed business plan. The public organisations provide sufficient information to the bank regarding the day to day operations. Considering the example of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) collectively with other significant agencies and ministries have attained a primary body of work. The enterprise has also taken it through the process of the extensive conference and inter-agency drafting. The OECD in the China regions has managed to consider the above aspect to be an important achievement. According to Brennan (2010), the tangible sign of Chinas obligation to the excellence and the testimony towards its readiness has been improved with the modernization of the regions capital markets and the corporate governance practices. Considering the scenario of the financial institutes, it could be inferred that the financial institutes prefer contributing to the start-up brands to increase the market presently. However, the financial institutes are highly devoted towards the sound-full set of the organisation. The institutions are taking the details of the internal system and the functional structure (Ch and Zimmerli, 2007). Since, certain percentages of the brands are just focusing on generating the profit margin and emphasise limited importance to the ethical measures. The institutions hardly prefer to contribute ant kinds of support to the specific set of enterprises. As per the report of World Bank, the Companies of the Continental European and Asian countries have managed a huge part of the wealth in terms of capital stock. As per the report, the GDP ratio in Germany is 81% and 191% in across the UK. The corporate practices of the countries are influenced by the different legal system developed in the respective countries and the organisations. According to the opinion of Alattom et al. (2013), the countries which have economically independent trends can adopt a standardised corporate governance practices for the betterment of the organisation. It has been identified that the corporate governance practices can also facilitate for fair and transparent business practices. For an instance, Genberg (2016) cited that Indian firms are best amongst the world in terms of keeping good corporate governance. The incident of Satyam, an Indian IT firm is one of the most recent examples of the corporate governance practice. The other firm has takeover Satyam and the corporate governance while a change process had occurred. The institutional investors had also taken a major role to suggest the best option for the case of Satyam (www.oecd.org, 2016). Therefore, it can be inferred that for corporate governance system of the different countries, institutional investors are an integral part of corporate governance. Moreover, the institutional investors have an important role in conducting a better decision making an approach for the benefit of the organisation. Recommendation to improve the corporate governance practice: The effective corporate governance often underpins the organisational condition in the marketplace. In the circumstance of the existing subject, Dellinger (2008) mentioned that the managements of the majority of the Asian region are failing to incorporate effective corporate governance measures, which are leading the brands to lose on the depicted shares in the market. Moreover, due to insufficient governance structure, the enterprises have failed to formulate an effective code of conduct, which reflects on the employee behavioural aspects. The employees are staying in a huge dilemma with regards to the individual work profile. The specific mistake often leads the employees to lose the interest from serving the organisation with efficacy. On the other side, Glover and Kirton (2006) determined that the institutions that are being operated in the Continental European region are failing to introduce the governing structure that helps the employees to create a work-life balance. Therefor e, the employees within the specific enterprise are losing out of the productivity due to the reason of employee fatigueness. Therefore, effective strategic solutions are discussed beneath, which might standout facilitate the enterprises of the specific regions to improve the corporate governance measures. According to French and Strachan (2015), the European Union has adopted the European Commission alternatives, which the boards of the listed enterprises annually confer the internal organisational procedures and also the extent to which the self-assessments have been led to the material changes. The team leaders of the YANG Hua have managed to follow the governmental measures and on the basis of which the incorporation of the standardised policies have been introduced. The past records reflect that the management of the brands has managed to emphasise effectively on the corporate, governmental measures. This has assisted the enterprise to increase its performance measures (Crisan and Borza, 2012). The appointment of the board of members has been made effectively, which directed the enterprises to increase the measures b to incorporate the risks within the organisational culture. Therefore, the particular enterprise has managed to explore on different experiments. The specific aspect has helped the organisation to increase its employee expertise and increasing the productivity by cutting show on the monotony. Increasing the diversity The research done by the previous researchers signify that the corporate boards of the European region suffer from the lack of diversities. In the framework of the current subject matter, Finnegan (2012) mentioned that Corporate boards suffer from a serious lack of diversity. The statistics of 2008 reflects that the board symphony of Fortune 100 enterprises has been approximated with 71% of the white men and 29 % of women considering the minorities. According to the perception of Mahoney et al. (2010), Women segment has managed to make up only 16 % of the directors of the Fortune 500 enterprises. The above scenario specifically signifies on the lack of diversity that has been pervasive despite the existence of the studies that reflects on several concepts to present that diversity within the work culture tends to improve its performance. Moreover, the studies conducted by the Credit-Suisse reports that the organisations of the other regions are embracing the concept of diversity within the work culture. Seekins (2006) determined that specifically, the work culture of China is promoting the workplace diversity to utilise the talents from every possible corner. The previous records reflect that the enterprise with more women culture has tended to increase the productivity by 4% than the brands that have stayed back with the traditional concept. Moreover, the brands with the diversified cultural background often tend to incur indifferent and creative thoughts in the market. The service lines of the enterprises have changed to a huge level, which has not only increased its external services but also on the individual behaviours with the peers. Appointing the competent board of directors In the opinion of Shaw (2006), an inference can be drawn that the Nominating Committee needs to devote sufficient time to appoint the board members that have adequate knowledge and skills to assist the board. According to Moon and Siegel (2008), the technical knowledge should never be the primary criteria of appointing the members. The members have the exclusive responsibilities of formulating the functional and the operational criteria that set a standardised performance of the organisation. Furthermore, the candidate that comes for the board interview should also be evaluated on its interpersonal skills. Since, the board interactions and relationships are highly significant to the overall board based performance. Therefore, the interpersonal skills would be highly required to judge on the communication type of the individual. Moreover, the candidate needs to have lucrative communication skills that automatically would be sufficient enough o persuade the line managers with the added roles Surety of the timely information Timely information leads to result in the better decision-making process. Considering the specific content of the subject matter, Kaupins and Park (2010) inferred that thesenior management is highly necessitated to provide the timely information to ensure the effective board supervision and direction simultaneously. Moreover,the Board members, should not be inundated with the information. The previous researches conducted by the scholars reflect that there needs to be a balance that is supposed to be achieved between necessary and irrelevant information (Cushway, 2015). The interactions between the senior managers and the board of members are complex to ensure the fact that the sufficient information is provided to the board. In case the board member requests for the information, the senior managers is supposed to respond promptly to the request. The surety of the timely information is effectively important that leads to increasing the efficacy of the board members. Thus, the members can easily understand the importance of the aspects that demands the attention. Based on which the instruction and the decisions regarding the process would be formulated. Prioritisation of risk management Considering the opinion of Editors and Filho (2009), it has been assessed that the board needs to establish an effectual system of the risk oversight and management purpose.The concept of Risk is not restricted to the compliance risks aspects. It has been considered as the broader term that tends to incorporate all the risks factors to the company, for example, the financial risks, cyber-security global warming, and other risks outside that include the compliances with different law and policy requirements. According to the statement of Moon and Siegel (2008), effective risk administration tends to improve the decision-making process andincorporates the cost-benefit policies to highlight the risk-reward decisions. Evaluation of the board performance Board of members needs to have a preference of examining the individual strengths and weaknesses. On the regular basis, the board needs to conduct a self-evaluation procedure, which involves the performances of the different directors. The assessment process needs to be used to recognise the weaknesses of the board performance and adopting the reforms that are necessitated to improve board performance (Moon and Siegel, 2008). The evaluation needs to on the board, which cut across the entire issues and personnel. The specific criteria also involve the interaction of the senior management with board members. Conclusion: The primary assertion of the study indicates that corporate governance is an essential component for every country to maintain a balanced structure of the corporate governance. While conducting the study, the role of institutional investors has been analysed. It has been identified that the role of the institutional investors is the primary disclosure where the people have faith in the funds. There has been an ongoing debate for the investor activism that can be better or worse. In the addition, it has been found that the institutional investors have to play a significant role in improving the corporate governance practices. The corporate governance of the different organisation has imposed the requisite expertise to monitor the organisational, operational activity. Furthermore, the institutional investors can also divert the main business into the large business unit. The various considerations have been analysed in the study to decide the active parts of the institutional investors. The current study has forecasted that the institutional investors have the equal right to take part in the organisational decision making an approach. Additionally, the current study is completely conducted by involving the different corporate governance affairs of the Continental Europe and Asia. Finally, the outcome of the current issue is that the institutional investors in corporate governance can perform better monitoring and the better corporate governance practices. Hence, it can be inferred that the institutional investors are the most integral part in the corporate governance practices and the other legal system of the different originations of the Continental Europe and Asia. References: Adbadmin and Bank, A.D. (2016) Business opportunities. Available at: https://www.adb.org/site/business-opportunities/main (Accessed: 21 September 2016). Alattom, Z. A.H., Mohamed Saat, M.B. and Idris, B.T. N. (2013) Internal audit quality role in raising the level of corporate governance: A case of Jordanian banks, International Journal of Academic Research, 5(1), pp. 177180. Anonymous (2016) European investment bank (EIB) - European Union website, the official EU website - European commission. Available at: https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-investment-bank_en (Accessed: 21 September 2016). Asian excellence AwardsPlease visitwww.asianexcellenceawards.com for further information (2012) Available at: https://corporategovernanceasia.info/asian_excellence_awards (Accessed: 21 September 2016). Attig, N., El Ghoul, S. and Guedhami, O. (2009) DO MULTIPLE LARGE SHAREHOLDERS PLAY A CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ROLE? EVIDENCE FROM EAST ASIA, Journal of Financial Research, 32(4), pp. 395422. Bianchi, M. (2014) Reform priorities in Asia: Taking corporate governance to a higher level. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/daf/ca/48806174.pdf (Accessed: 21 September 2016). Brennan, D. (2010)Corporate social responsibility: The corporate governance of the 21st century. Edited by Ramon Mullerat. 2nd edn. Netherlands: Kluwer Law International. Ch, W. and Zimmerli, K.R. (2007)Corporate ethics and corporate governance. Edited by Walther C. Zimmerli, Klaus Richter, and Markus Holzinger. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH Co. K. Cheung, S.Y.L. and Chan, B.Y. (2014) CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN ASIA, Asia-Pacific Development Journal, 11(2). Corporate governance of listed companies in china (2011) Available at: https://www.oecd.org/corporate/ca/corporategovernanceprinciples/48444985.pdf (Accessed: 21 September 2016). Crisan, C.M. and Borza, A. (2012) Social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibilities,International Business Research, 5(2), pp. 87103. Cushway, B. (2015)The employers handbook: An essential guide to employment law, personnel policies and procedures. 10th edn. London: Kogan Page. Dellinger, K. (2008) Women seafarers: Global employment policies and practices by Phillip Belcher, Helen Sampson, Michelle Thomas, Jaime Veiga and Minghua Zhao,Gender, Work Organization, 15(4), pp. 413415. Editors, W. and Filho, L. (2009)Professionals perspectives of corporate social responsibility. Edited by Samuel O. Idowu and Walter Leal Filho. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH Co. K. Filatotchev, I., Bruton, G., Chahine, S. and Wright, M. (2007) GOVERNANACE AND PERFORMANCE OF IPOs: THE IMPACT OF PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS, Academy of Management Proceedings, 2007(1), pp. 15. Finnegan, F. (2012) Community education, learning and development,Community Development Journal, 47(2), pp. 303306. French, E. and Strachan, G. (2015) Women at work! Evaluating equal employment policies and outcomes in construction,Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 34(3), pp. 227243. Genberg, H. (2016) Capital market development and emergence of institutional investors in the Asia-Pacific region, Asia-Pacific Development Journal, 22(2), pp. 126. Glover, J. and Kirton, G. (2006)Women, employment and organizations: Challenges for management. New York: Routledge. Gui, S. (2015) Chp6 the role of institutional investors in corporate governance. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/sunlygui/topic6-the-role-of-institutional-investors-in-cg (Accessed: 21 September 2016). Jhunjhunwala, S. (2016) Foreign investors and corporate governance--quid pro quo, Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, 9(1), pp. viivii. Jochem, S. (2011) Nordic employment policies - change and continuity before and during the financial crisis,Social Policy Administration, 45(2), pp. 131145. John, K., De Masi, S. and Paci, A. (2016) Corporate governance in banks, Corporate Governance: An International Review, 24(3), pp. 303321. Kaupins, G. and Park, S. (2010) Legal and ethical implications of corporate social networks,Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 23(2), pp. 8399. Khan, M.A.A. (2006) Corporate governance and the role of institutional investors in India, Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, 7(2), pp. 3754. LI, D., Moshirian, F., Pham, P.K. and Zein, J. (2006) When financial institutions are large shareholders: The role of Macro corporate governance environments, The Journal of Finance, 61(6), pp. 29753007. Mahoney, J.L., Levine, M.D. and Hinga, B. (2010) The development of after-school program educators through university-community partnerships,Applied Developmental Science, 14(2), pp. 89105. Mallin, C. (2008) Institutional shareholders: Their role in the shaping of corporate governance, International Journal of Corporate Governance, 1(1), p. 97. Mayer, C. (2009) Organisation for economic Co-operation and development Organisation de Coopration et de Dveloppement conomiques in co-operation with the Korea development institute and with the co-sponsorship of the government of Japan and the world bank conference on. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/corporate/ca/corporategovernanceprinciples/1931436.pdf (Accessed: 21 September 2016). Moon, J. and Siegel, D.S. (2008)The Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility. Edited by Andrew Crane, Abagail McWilliams, and Dirk Matten. New York: Oxford University Press. Nix, P. and Chen, J.J. (2013) The role of institutional investors in corporate governance: An empirical study. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Nolan, J. (2010) The influence of western banks on corporate governance in china, Asia Pacific Business Review, 16(3), pp. 417436. Seekins, T. (2006) Introduction: Disability and community development,Community Development, 37(3), pp. 13. Shaw, M. (2006) Community development and the politics of community,Community Development Journal, 43(1), pp. 2436. Srivardhan, M. (2009) Role of institutional investors in corporate governance by Manya Srivardhan: SSRN The UK corporate governance portal - European corporate governance developments (2014) Available at: https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/technical-resources/the-uk-corporate-governance-portal/european-corporate-governance-developments/ (Accessed: 21 September 2016).

The Detrimental Effects In Changing The Rent Control Act Essays (390 w

The Detrimental Effects in Changing the Rent Control Act In a just society, the ruling authority must decide what is right when allocating wealth to its individual citizens. The same ruling authority does this by intervening with the inner workings of a marketplace to uphold its fundamental values and ideals. The aim of government intervention is to create a just society that will reflect the people's values. Governing bodies do this by establishing laws that enforce fairness or ?equity'. The Ontario government passed the Rent Control Act in 1975. The law levels the playing field between landlords and tenants. New units are exempt from controls for their first five years after which the controls are put into place. The controls put a ceiling on annual rent increases. Under current law, a landlord may only increase a tenants' rent by 2% plus inflation.1 As with all other markets, the housing market is based on supply and demand. If the nature of the market were allowed to take its course, then the price of housing would become unaffordable for most citizens. An unfair situation would be created where power and money would be disproportionately appropriated to land owners. Rent control laws were established by previous governments to protect society and its people from inflated and uncontrollable housing costs. The Harris government now wants to repeal these laws. On June 25 the Minister of Housing, Al Leach, released a policy paper outlining the changes that are to be made to Ontario's rent laws. Conservative legislators plan to pass the proposed ?Tenant Protection Act' in the fall. The omnibus legislation will rescind the Rent Control Act, the Landlord and Tenant Act, the Rental Housing Protection Act, Residents' Rights Act, the Land Lease Statute Amendment Act, the Vital Services Act.2 The most objectionable change allows the act to lift controls off vacant units. The 3.2 million renters in Ontario are very concerned about the changes.3 The housing ministry will accept written submissions from the public until Augus t 30. Public hearings are also planned in hope that they will ease the transition. However, most people are indignant towards the idea. Changing the rent control laws would be detrimental to society as they threaten citizens' positive right to affordable housing, harm their mobility rights and increase the gap between the rich and the poor.

Names of Family Members in Spanish

Names of Family Members in Spanish Who are the members of your family, how many are there, and what do they do? These are among the first questions you may be asked when you meet and first become acquainted with a native Spanish speaker. Depending on your age, you may be asked about your parents and what they do for a living, or you may be asked if you are married or have any children. Learn the words on this page as well as a few words to describe your family members, then bring a photo along, and even if youre a beginner and know only simple grammar, you can engage in conversation. Gender and Family Members Keep in mind that masculine plurals in Spanish can refer to mixed groups of males and females. Thus cuatro hijos can mean either four sons or four children, depending on the context. And while it may sound strange to the ear attuned to English, padres is a grammatically correct way to refer to both a mother and father, even though padre alone refers to a father. Also, note that the word pariente means relative in general; the Spanish-English cognate  doesnt refer only to parents. Vocabulary of the Family Following are the names for the most common relatives and some of the uncommon ones: padre: fathermadre: motherhermano: brotherhermana: sistersuegro: father-in-lawsuegra: mother-in-lawcuà ±ado: brother-in-lawcuà ±ada: sister-in-lawesposo, marido: husbandesposa, mujer: wifeabuelo: grandfatherabuela: grandmotherbisabuelo: great-grandfatherbisabuela: great-grandmothertatarabuelo: great-great-grandfathertatarabuela: great-great-grandmotherhijo: sonhija: daughternieto: grandsonnieta: granddaughterbisnieto: great-grandsonbisnieta: great-granddaughtertataranieto: great-great-grandsontataranieta: great-great-granddaughtertà ­o: uncletà ­a: aunttà ­o abuelo: great-uncletà ­a abuela: great-auntprimo: cousin (male)prima: cousin (female)primo carnal, prima carnal, primo hermano, prima hermana: first cousinprimo segundo, prima segunda: second cousinsobrino: nephewsobrina: niecepadrastro: stepfathermadrastra: stepmotherhijastro: stepsonhijastra: stepdaughterhermanastro: stepbrotherhermanastra: stepsistermedio hermano, hermano de padre, hermano de madre: half brothermedia her mana, hermana de padre, hermana de madre: half sister concuà ±ado: husband of ones spouses sisterconcuà ±ada: wife of ones spouses brotherconsuegro: father-in-law of ones son or daughterconsuegra: mother-in-law of ones son or daughterprometido, novio: fiance, boyfriend, groomprometida, novia: fiancà ©e, girlfriend, bridecompaà ±ero: male partner in a couple relationshipcompaà ±era: female partner in a couple relationshippadrino: godfathermadrina: godmotherahijado: godsonahijada: goddaughteramigo: friend (male)amiga: friend (female)conocido: acquaintance (male)conocida: acquaintance (female) Miscellaneous Family Terms La familia polà ­tica  or los polà ­ticos may be used as the equivalent of the in-laws. In other words, the terms refer to people to whom one is related by marriage. (In a different context, polà ­ticos can also refer to politicians.) The term amigovio or amigovia can be used colloquially in some areas to a person with whom a person has a romantic or sexual relationship that hasnt necessarily been formalized, such as a friend with benefits or a live-in lover where there isnt necessarily an expectation of marriage. This is a word of fairly recent origin, so its meaning isnt uniform in all areas. Note that while marido refers to a husband, there is no corresponding feminine form, marida, in standard use. Sample Sentences Referring to Family Members Here are some simple sample sentences you can use as models for your own: Mi padre es carpintero. (My father is a carpenter.)Mi tà ­a es dentista.(My aunt is a dentist.)Mi madre es ama de casa. (My mother is a housewife.)Tengo dos hermanos y una hermana. (I have two brothers and a sister.)Tengo cuatro hermanos. (This sentence can be seen as ambiguous by English speakers. It can be correctly translated as either I have four brothers or I have four siblings.)Tengo nueve tà ­os. (I have nine aunts and uncles or I have nine uncles.:)Mi madrastra vive en el estado de Nueva York. (My stepmother lives in New York state.)Mis sobrinas viven en Chicago. (My nieces live in Chicago.)Mi padre est muerto. (My father is dead.)Mi prima est muerta. (My female cousin is dead.)Mi madre est viva. (My mother is alive.)Otto y Edith Frank fueron los padres de Ana Frank. (Otto and Edith  Frank were the parents of Anne Frank.)Los primos no pueden casarse segà ºn nuestra cultura. (Cousins cannot marry accoridng to our culture.)Los suegras siempre tienen mala reputacià ³n. (Mo thers-in-law always have a bad reputation.)

How the Compromise of 1850 Helped Delay the Civil War

How the Compromise of 1850 Helped Delay the Civil War The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five bills intended to stave off sectional strife that passed during  Millard Fillmores  presidency.  With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican-American War, all the Mexican-owned territory between California and Texas was given to the United States. This included parts of New Mexico and Arizona. In addition, portions of Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado were ceded to the US. The question that arose was what to do with slavery in these territories. Should it be allowed or forbidden? The issue was extremely important to both free and slave states because of the balance of power in terms of voting blocs in the US Senate and House of Representatives.   Henry Clay as Peacemaker Henry Clay was a Whig Senator from Kentucky. He was nicknamed The Great Compromiser due to his efforts at helping bring these bills to fruition along with previous bills such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise Tariff of 1833. He personally owned slaves which he would later free in his will. However, his motivation in passing these compromises, especially the 1850 compromise, was to avoid the Civil War. Sectional strife was becoming more and more confrontational. With the addition of new territories and the question of whether they would be free or slave territories, the need for a compromise was the only thing that at that time would have averted outright violence. Realizing this, Clay enlisted the help of Democratic Illinois Senator, Stephen Douglas who would eight years later be involved in a series of debates with Republican opponent Abraham Lincoln.   Clay, backed by Douglas, proposed five resolutions on January 29, 1850, which he hoped would bridge the gap between Southern and Northern interests. In April of that year, a Committee of Thirteen was created to consider the resolutions. On May 8th, the committee led by Henry Clay proposed the five resolutions combined into an omnibus bill. The bill did not receive unanimous support. Opponents on both sides were not happy with the compromises including southerner John C. Calhoun and northerner William H. Seward. However, Daniel Webster put his considerable weight and verbal talents behind the bill. Nonetheless, the combined bill failed to win support in the Senate. Thus, the supporters decided to separate the omnibus bill back into five individual bills. These were eventually passed and signed into law by President Fillmore.   The Five Bills of the Compromise of 1850   The goal of the Compromise bills was to deal with the spread of slavery to territories in order to keep northern and southern interests in balance. The five bills included in the Compromises put the following into law: California was entered as a free state.New Mexico and Utah were each allowed to use popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery. In other words, the people would pick whether the states would be free or slave.The Republic of Texas gave up lands that it claimed in present-day New Mexico and received $10 million to pay its debt to Mexico.The slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia.The Fugitive Slave Act made any federal official who did not arrest a runaway slave liable to pay a fine. This was the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery. The Compromise of 1850 was key in delaying the start of the Civil War until 1861. It temporarily lessened the rhetoric between northern and southern interests, thereby delaying secession for 11 years. Clay died of tuberculosis in 1852. One wonders what might have happened if he had still been alive in 1861.

IT INFRASTRUCTURE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

IT INFRASTRUCTURE - Essay Example In the Middle East, BDB is one of the leading service providers in gas, power, water and chemical industries providing maintenance, rehabilitation, construction, O&M and lifecycle services (Boudreau, 2008). It has an asset base of over  £500 million and order intake of  £58 million. It has over 1300 employees operating from Saudi Arabia, United Emirates and Kuwait. It parent company Bilfinger Power Systems GmbH AS AT 2012 had over 10,000 employees and an order intake of  £1.178 million For it to operate more effectively and serve a wide base of clients, BDB realized that it requires a network that will facilitate seamless communication between its diverse locations without compromising security of its resources. It has a number of departments including sales with 300 employees while other 900 employees are spread across Finance, Operations, Human Resources, Marketing, production and corporate office in 10 offices in United Arab Emirates. BDB network consist of a backbone, campus, data center, branch/WAN and Ethernet edge. Of late, it has reported a number of vulnerabilities and security breaches in its networks. Due to recent security breaches in the campus network BDB took a major step in 2012 and deployed a secure network provided sufficient security for its operations. Remote access will allow telecommuting employees to access to the main office resources without being necessarily being there. Security is a major concern for remote access and should be treated as such during network design process. Because of the demands for seamless network access for remote and in-house users as well as security of internal resources, BDB contracted the services of a technology contractor to analyze the business needs and recommend a company-wide solution. The contractor recommended the deployment of a IPSec-based VPN and the process of planning

Comment on how these may have contributed to the crisis and describe Essay

Comment on how these may have contributed to the crisis and describe the action subsequently taken on these two matters by the UK Government, see other instructions - Essay Example rigger for the crisis was the bursting of the housing bubble in the US, several corporate governance issues at banks were equally responsible for the spread and deepening of this crisis. Two of the most important corporate governance issues at play were – the merger of retail and institutional banking under one banking entity and the fat bonus culture at financial services companies. Whereas retail banking refers to banking in which banks interact/transact with individuals, institutional banking refers to transactions with corporate. The retail banking is rather risk averse and mostly a stable business in itself whereas institutional banking generally involves a lot more risk taking and the business is quite volatile. By having retail and institutional banking under one parent company, the risks taken for doing business in one area become a possible liability for the other. Therefore, losses incurred at institutional banking would have to be borne by the retail banking branch as they fall under the same group. Secondly, some institutions can indulge in putting more risk in its institutional banking business in order to increase their retail business, which is what explains how many banks were able to sell sub-prime mortgages before the crisis started. Sub-prime mortgages are high risk investments for banks and by packaging them into mortgage-backed bonds and sel ling/buying them through their institutional banking arms, banking groups take on significant risk on their balance sheets. Now, in the event of losses in the institutional banking business, financial services groups had to delve into their equities and reserves to cover these losses and to pay their dues. Thus, from retail banking clients’ point of view, the financial groups were using up their savings put in the bank to pay for losses incurred on the institutional banking business. This led to loss of confidence in the retail banks and caused bank-runs at some banks. As the retail banks keep only a

Comparison between Japanese and Canadian Central Bank Policies Essay Example for Free

Comparison between Japanese and Canadian Central Bank Policies Essay The present paper is an investigation of the central bank policies in the countries of Japan and Canada. The paper takes into examination Bank of Japan and Bank of Canada and explores the grounds on which similarities and differences, if any, can be noted. This study is a comparison between the central banks’ policies of both the countries. The structure of the paper overviews the banking system of both the countries then furthers with individual analysis only to bring a major comparison at the second last section. The paper discusses findings in the conclusion section and makes recommendations for future policy making and development. 2- Overview This section overviews the past, present of the two banks in the concerned countries. This is in the attempt of creating a base of the later sections that would be dealing with specific policy issues of the two banks. 2.1- Japanese Banking System Today Japanese banking system finds its foundational roots in the aftermaths of World War II and is still continuing to grow support for the financial and industrial organizations of the country. Ever since World War II, Japanese banking system has gone through a number of changes and adaptations in corporate behavior as well as in the shaping of economic and regulatory policies. The period that can be said to be the golden time for the development of the Japanese banking system is regarded to be from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. This was the time when Japanese firms were growing rapidly and needed financial backing and monetary assessment to hold solid on the corporate grounds. However, from the 1970s, some changes were experienced by this banking system and that solid position was shaken. Of the major reasons, international paradigm change in financial transactions, corporate behavior with regard to investment of funds both internal and external, (firms started issuing securities rather than borrowing from banks) and other such reasons can be said to be the causes for the shaking of such a strong banking system as was in Japan once especial up to the early 1970s. Up to the present day, in the Japanese financial system, bank loans still possess the dominant place as the external financing source for the corporate sector which is non-financial – until 1986 the borrowings done from private institutions were recorded to be more than seventy percent. Other such common services as issuance of bonds, client monitoring, cost monitoring for different services, and so forth are also found to be in practice in the Japanese banking system. As such, there is much more that is needed to be examined in this country’s banking system that makes it notable on the international horizon (Aoki, Patrick, Sheard, pp. 1-15, 1994). 2.2 – Canadian Banking System The central banking system of Canada is also with its typical issues and challenges and up to the present time, these challenges have been multiplying for a number of factors. For example, nowhere in history general public was so much conscious about the evil unemployment and is now showing a hyper attitude which simply put the government and its financial institutions up front to the criticism. As such, the challenges are to make such financial policies as can help confront these challenges and move over them. Although the central bank of Canada did go through a long period of adjustments, say the depression period of the 1930s and later, Neufeld (1958) notes that â€Å"The constitutional adjustments experienced by the Bank of Canada were not as great as those of some older central banks† (p. 4). There are noteworthy reasons for this observation. For instance, beginning in the market, the bank was sponsored by the government leading to a stable position. However, political interventions and the bank’s responsibilities to cater for the needs or demands of the political party government continued to exist. The bank went through war crisis, financial instability, and social pressures like unemployment, all along its birth becoming an adult from an immature youth. At present the Bank is in a more favorable position to serve for the purposes of the government and perform its multifarious purposes with regard to financial activities along with the challenges. Some of the challenges that the bank faced during its stability periods were â€Å"serious foreign exchange outflows and phenomenal capital inflows† (212). The three areas, back in the stability phase, i.e., bond market, stock exchanges, and foreign exchange markets, have been tactfully established by the bank to create a positive picture of the overall economic situation of the country. Presently, the Bank holds a primary position in the decision making process of these three areas. Today, as a successful bank, the expert opinion about this bank is that it has dealt in the time of difficulty more with technique which was versatile than conservatism (213). The banking system of Canada is in a constant process of up gradation for better output; one such instance is the use of geographic information systems (GIS) technology â€Å"for a wide range of applications† (Macdonald, 2001, p. 419). Therefore, it is important to have a deep examination of the policies and practices of this bank so that the insider’s view can help others form such a system in any other country. 3-Policies of the Bank of Japan There are a number of policy issues that need to be revisited but for the limited space of the paper, only a few major are discussed. First of all, policies of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) have been central to critics’ attention due to a number of reasons but the most important is that it is one of the three G-3 central banks that have been reviewed in the past decades. The special features of BOJ are numerous. The most apparent, however, is its stance on deflation. Although BOJ was forced to take â€Å"a highly leveraged position† in local financial environment, it has taken no risk to fight the challenge. Moreover, it might have been possible for the bank to give in to a number of challenges that were created by deflation, however, the bank continued to survive with a number of different policies and measures (Cargill, 2005, p. 311). BOJ’s approach to monetary policy is pragmatic. The overall focus of this monetary policy is to maintain stability in price and encourage economic development. To meet these ends, the Bank monitors such areas as exchange rates, the aggregates of money, the indices of consumer and wholesale rates, growth of the GDP, production taking place in the industry, on-going interest rate in the market, prices of assets, and a number of other factors. It is also notable that in the functions of the Bank, international policy association and coordination can also play a role in the Bank’s domestic policy making. It is important to note that throughout its existence the BOJ has never come to stand as hardcore monetarist. Instead of this, the Bank has been treating the policy making of money more like a form of art. There are a number of methods by which the Bank lets its policies become public. The implementation of policies also takes a number of forms, for instance, â€Å"discoun t window† guides other financial institutions through loans etc. (Miller, 1996, pp. 1-47). By the late 1980s, BOJ held its position as positive in the eyes of the critics due to a number of policy making issues since WWII. Up to then the bank had gone through a number of remarkably shaky times coping up with such challenges as industrialization and establishment of it. By that time major characteristics of BOJ were its commitment to price stability and positive outcomes that came out of its policies. The most important point is that since its establishment, its legal position did not go through a change. Then it was the only bank rated as the most dependent of all the central banks in the world. Hence the notable feature is its keeping price stability instead of being a dependent bank. It also contradicted the widely acclaimed view that the more independent a central bank, the more price stability would be extended (Cargill, 2005, p. 311).   May 1989 is the period called the low point policy period of BOJ which continued through the year 2004. Here the bank increased the rate of discount in a number of steps that included historically low rate of 2.5 percent to 6.0 in the first stage of 1991. It was sternly a reaction against the asset inflation of the 1980s. However, the sharp recession and diminishing asset rate backed the bank to move for ease of policy in 1991 and the call and discount rates came down to 0.05 percent by the early 1995. Until it obtained the first â€Å"0 rate of interest† policy in 1999, the bank went on lowering call rate discount. It was drawn to a close in 2000. It came back to zero rate policy again in 2000 and moved on to a statistical easing down of policy in 2001 because declining economy alerted the authorities; moreover, it needed to adopt a different framework of operation for short-term rates on interest which had to be fundamentally zero (Cargill, 2005, p. 311). Although internationally, it is the reputation of the Bank of Japan that it has been moving too gradually in terms of the formation of monetary policy, fiscal policies, and resolving the issues present to it, there are important areas where this criticism becomes void. For example, Japan is often compared with the USA without considering the fact that former faced a great many more problems than the latter. Additionally, there are such instances as Japan’s tighter economic policy in 1996 that has much to discard this criticism (Browne, 2001, p. 3). 4- Policies of the Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BOC) is often criticized for influencing the level of price, jobs, and the development of its country’s economy. However, in the recent years the Bank has acquired a reputation that it is very concerned with keeping the inflation rate low so that it can make other ends meet for broader goals of economy. The Bank has also been charged with its acute concerns to inflation rate only and looking over such challenges as unemployment and economic growth. However, there are proponents of the Bank’s policies who come forward to defend the policies of the bank as they are presently in practice stating that if the focus of the Bank shift to the vice versa perspective, there would be no growth in economy and inflation rate will increase causing devaluation of the dollar. Vanderhart (2003) conducted an in-depth analysis of BOC’s response to inflation rate and other such concerns as unemployment, growth of economy, and other factors. The author found that there is insufficient evidence to suggest that the Bank of Canada’s response to economic data available on inflation is direct, â€Å"inflationary precursors as raw materials and intermediate goods prices are only significant when other important factors are omitted† (p. 357). But the author does not make it a remark that the Bank does not follow the procedures to pursue anti-inflationary policy. What the BOC has successfully achieved with regard to keeping control over inflation is that it responds to those factors which are other than â€Å"the releases of price level data†. Moreover, the recent policies also prompt to the suggestion that the Bank is taking measure to fight the challenge of unemployment. Two factors also came up to the author’s analysis that determined the actions and responses of the BOC. These are exchange rates and federal fund rate. The bottom line that the author draws is the there is little doubt about the health of the Canadian economy and the BOC is actively involved in the process of keeping this health stable. However, if some out-of-Canada issues are present, there may be some criticism on the Bank for example, its interconnection with the U.S. monetary policy because there are voices that might want a Canada which is independent of U.S. related economic policies (Vanderhart, 2003). If we review comparative analysis of Canadian economic growth with other countries (say Australia), there is sufficient evidence to mark the above observation that the Canadian economy has grown stronger than before and that such challenges as labor utilization has been carefully handled in the favor of the country. Harchaoui, et al. tell us that the growth of Canada’s real average income has large credit to a magnificent improvement in the way labor has been utilized, i.e. â€Å"the combination of high average hours worked and a high rate of employment in the total population†. In addition to this, capital deepening effect has also played an important role in the present stability of the Canadian financial outlook (Harchaoui, et al., 2005, p. 36). 5- Bank of Japan and Bank of Canada Comparing the policies of the central banks of Japan and Canada each gives us more insight. There are a few studies that have been done on the comparative analysis. In one such study, Tomljanovich (2007) informs that the central banks of these two countries (including banks of other countries, as well) are on a constant pursuit of having open dialogue with the general public and this is in the efforts of increasing efficiency and reducing volatility in financial markets. In the case of Canada, which comes in the category of a majority of interest rate maturities, it is found that there is greater predictability in terms of market functions because there is a high flow of information to Canada and this flow coincides with sub-periods simultaneously to lower interest volatility rate. However, Japan (as well as Germany in this study) appears to be the only country in which there is no such evidence of lower interest volatility. Moreover the study shows that the central Bank of Japan and the central Bank of Canada both moved to greater transparency measures in the 1990s which shows that both these banks want to progress on the modern lines (p. 791). As for the policies of Canadian central bank, it is evident that there is inclination of these policies to those of the U.S. There is no doubt that Bank of Canada has greater interests in keeping these ties with the financial environment of the U.S. monetary and fiscal policies. However, Bank of Japan has stood on a very different turf that is of independence with dependence and of unique regulatory framework of all policies handled ever since World War II. There is no doubt that government like Canada and Quebec recognize China and Japan for their strategic partnership in the region of Asia. For this the credit goes to Japanese ever-growing economic curve which in turn holds credit for the policies that the central banking system of Japan for a long time formulated, ran, and implemented successfully (Inomata, 2002, p. 259). 6- Conclusion Examination of the policies of central Bank of Japan and the central Bank of Canada in detail reveal that both countries have to face challenges that emerge from their specific environment. There are similarities and differences in the approaches of the Banks of both the countries. One acute similarity is that both countries have moved to greater transparency and are considered successful banks on the international horizon. Another is that Banks of both these countries are focusing more on interest rate and inflation level stability. For this purpose, however, the approaches of the two banks are different; both are putting efforts to fight the challenge of unemployment. As for the differences, Japanese bank is legally dependent, whereas, Canadian bank is independent; yet there is this sharp observation that Bank of Canada looks at the U.S. financial environment for policy making, whereas, Japanese Bank looks at its own typical challenges that need to be tackled on the international f ront. Another important thing which comes out from this study of the two banking systems in two different countries is that both function in their own environment and that it is not possible to find acute similarities in both the systems because of different financial and social outlook of the countries. This is important to look into more details in these central banks and banks of other countries as well so that a sound analysis about policy making and other measure against present and upcoming challenges can be met.

An Unnatural Family as the Punishment for Sin in Hawthornes Scarlet Le

In an introductory paragraph to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works, Perkins and Perkins say that â€Å"Hawthorne elevated some of the darkest events of the colonial period and transformed them into universal themes and questions†(Perkins 433). One of these themes is that of the penalty of sin. In Romans 6:23, Paul says that â€Å"the wages of sin is death† and Hawthorne seems to share this view, or at least some version of it. This view is prevalent in his novel The Scarlet Letter. In it, the penalty for Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s sin is a family that is disfigured and unnatural. Dimmesdale, the â€Å"father† in this family shies away from his patriarchal duties and stands by while he lets Hester do all of the work regarding Pearl. First of all, Dimmesdale is absent for the majority of Pearl’s life. He is present in the town but hardly ever sees Pearl, even though she is his daughter. He says that Pearl has, only â€Å"twice in her little lifetime† shown kindness to him(Hawthorne Ch.19). Out of seven entire years, Dimmesdale and Pearl have shared only two meaningful moments together. Dimmesdale has obviously shied away from his duties as a father to Pearl. Even though she is illegitimate, it is his responsibility to help raise her. He also does not deal with Pearl directly when she is acting like a crazed animal. He implores Hester to calm her, telling Hester to â€Å"pacify her,† through any means to show him â€Å"if thou lovest me!†(Hawthorne Ch. 19). Hawthorne uses specific images through the words of his characters to show how much Dimmesdale is shying away from his responsibilities as a father. As a father, Dimmesdale should be raising his child to become a contributing member of the Puritan society in Massachusetts. Instead of doing this, Dimmesd... ..., but this is exactly what Pearl does over both Hester and Dimmesdale. Clearly, during the forest scene, Hawthorne is giving the reader a sense of how unnatural this family that came from a single adulterous act is. It sheds light on Hawthorne’s romantic views because it shows how an unnatural family is detestable. In a much more broad sense, it gives the reader a glimpse of Hawthorne’s own personal theology. He firmly believes in severe consequences for sin and it shows in his novel. Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. 1850. New York: Bantam Dell, 2003. Print Perkins, George, and Barbara Perkins. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne.† The American Tradition in Literature. Ed. Perkins and Perkins. 12th ed. Concise ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2007. 433-36. Print. The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1996. Print.

Policy-making in the Federal System Essay

The U.S. government’s expansive role in public policy is caught in a swirl of conflicting cross-currents. On the one hand, popular expectations about government’s responsibility to solve problems often exceed the capacity of state and local authorities to respond effectively. On the other hand, policies developed at the national level may not sufficiently reflect the great diversity of interests across the U.S. to be effective at the local level. Moreover, the search for effective policy is further complicated by theoretical debates about the constitutional framework of federalism, e.g., what limits on national power can be derived from the Tenth Amendment? A policy area in the middle of these cross-currents is elementary and secondary education – a subject traditionally under local control, with some oversight by the states. However, during the last four decades – especially since 2001 – the national government’s role in education has grown significantly as a result of initiatives by Republican and Democratic administrations. Use the assigned resources to inform yourself about this role and the arguments of its supporters and critics. In your initial post of at least 200-250 words, briefly summarize the national government’s education policies. Explain the main pros and cons in the debate about these policies. Evaluate them from two perspectives: The policies’ effectiveness in improving the quality of U.S. elementary and secondary education. (Justify your assessment by clearly explaining your definition of â€Å"effectiveness† and how it should be measured or determined.) Their consistency with the constitutional framework of federalism. (Justify your assessment by clearly explaining your interpretation of American federalism’s constitutional framework and why federal education policies are or are not consistent with it.) Fully respond to all parts of the question. Write in your own words. Support your position with APA citations to two or more different resources required for this discussion. By Day 7, respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts. Your peer responses each must be at least 75 words. They must demonstrate  critical thinking (e.g., ask a relevant question about your peer’s post while explaining why your question is significant, or state a perspective that contrasts with your peer’s while explaining or justifying your position). In the Federal government’s role in education, I think it can be seen in the â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act† that the Federal Government has set down certain educational guidelines for the states to follow. These guidelines have to provide the Federal government from the states with information such as student achievements, performance by school districts; test performed by students in grades 3 through 8, and ensures that teachers meet minimum qualifications for teaching, in order to get federal funding from the Federal government. I think that in one way, it could be construed as within the federalism’s constitutional framework, in that the Federal government is making sure that in order for the states to receive federal help that they must be in compliance with certain guidelines to best give a proper education to the children of today. Yet according to K. Hettleman, the U.S. Government has not gone far enough, as seen in his article, Expand â€Å"No Child† through Federal Standards, Funding, that the Federal Government holds states accountable for the low performance of poor and minority students, but is undermined by political compromises, that allow state and local officials to continue to devise their own academic standards and tests. I think there ought to be stricter regulations by the federal government of making the states do more for the students in education practices that would make all students equal in performance no matter of race, color or statue in order for that state to receive federal assistance. As seen by educational statistics, â€Å"Illiteracy in the U.S. Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. is doing well. According to the latest International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), between 19% and 23% of American adults performed at the top levels for each of the three literacy scales: document literacy, prose literacy and quantitative (number) literacy. Sweden is the only country that scored higher. Yet many Americans are being left behind. The same survey found that between 21% and 24% of U.S. adults performed at the lowest level  for all three scales, a figure echoed by the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). I think that the State and Federal Government ought to work closer together to ensure a better education for all Americans. Reference: Wong, K. K. (2008, December). Federalism revised: The promise and challenge of the No Child Left Behind Act, Retrieved from: Public Administration Review: Special Issue on The Winter Commission Report Revisited, S175-S185. Document ID, ProQuest Social Science Journals database in the Ashford Online Library Gabriel, T. (2011, October 9). G.O.P. anti-federalism aims at education [News analysis]. Retrieved from: New York Times (Late Edition (east coast)), A28. Document ID: 2480540871. Retrieved from ProQuest Newspapers database, in the Ashford Online Library Levin- Waldon, O.M. (2012). American Government. San Diego, Ca: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Http://www

Nike Market Analysis Essay

There are many companies offering similar but not identical products, this is called Monopolistic competition market, and there are also many buyers that perceive differences between these products like service, features, design and quality, so they are willing to pay different prices for them. Therefore, each firm influences each other on the extent of the product prices or has some control over some. For instance, exists different marketing tools that firms use for competition, such as branding and personal selling to differentiate their offerings and advertising. Nike is located at Bearverton, Oregon. The company was founded in 1978by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight, named Nike and become the number one sports manufactures in the world design by Nolan Breitbarth in the 1970’s.This company sells sports products worldwide. Nike sells a huge range of products, including shoes and apparel for sports activities like volleyball, cycling, golf, athletics, American football, tennis , combat sports, basketball and football. Nike is a company that has attained success in the market thanks to the excellence of its products and the passion for everyone to use its brand products that create the Nike Just Do It feeling for the competition. The proven strategy of the company is to create a consumer’s perception of brand influences their buying decision in sports industry by athletic expectation that is endorsed by real athletes, technique that has revolutionized the sports marketing. Nike recently teamed up with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike + product which monitors a runner’s performance via radio device in the shoe that communicates with the iPod nano. American brand Nike is number two in terms of name recognition among foreign consumers and is a sponsor of different players, events and sports teams, among others, and is the number one sports brand in the world. The direct competition of Nike has always been the sports brand Adidas. Adidas is a German worldwide firm that also produces different sporting goods, founded in 1949 in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Adidas’ market capitalization is 18.09  billion, well below the capitalization of Nike. Adidas is considered the second sports brand in the wor ld, competing with Nike since this American company was founded. Adidas has never been able to pass or improve the figures of Nike. Adidas recently began to make very similar decisions to Nike; this allows the competition to grow. Adidas decide to use marketing strategies similar to those of Nike in the moment that they decide to invest a large portion of their capital in advertising and celebrity sponsorships, the strategy used by Nike since its inception. Adidas, after ups and downs in the market against Nike, recently decided to acquire the Reebok firm, a sustitute brand of sporting goods, this decision was made in order to topple the market leader Sports, Nike, based on a â€Å"partnership†. Adidas competes strongly with Nike, but Nike still has this kind of monopoly because it makes better things with much less production factors than Adidas. Another example of substitute brand in the sports market is the signature Puma, with a market capitalization of 3.46 Billion dollars. Puma does not compete strongly with brands like Nike or Adidas, their products are also substitutes but it does not has a wide range and variety. Similarly, Reebok products, before the firm was acquired by Adidas, were competing in the sports market with these two giant. Although often substitute products could be better than those of the two big firms, people prefer the big firm’s products for the fact that marketing and advertising is way much better and people get carried away by the image that firms are selling them, beyond quality. Similar examples are for companies like Converse, New Balance and Under Armour, among others. Nike’s market capitalization is 57.58 Billion dollars and the company spends millions of dollars annually in promoting events, celebrities and numerous flashy ads that catch the attention of consumers and promote the culture of sport as a benefit to the world. Nike has managed to remain world leader in sports products since the 90’s and even when there are many other sports brands in the world, Nike is kind of a monopoly in this market thanks to the market strategies used that have allowed this firm to place and especially, remain, well above their competitors, that is why this firm falls into the category of monopolistic competition. Nike has many strengths and weaknesses as a consolidated company in a market that is competitive by nature, as are the sports. One of its strengths is that it is a world class company that has the facility to  sell their products anywhere in the world. Nike has more than 700 production factories around the world. Other two major strengths of the company, as already mentioned, is their slogan and symbol, which have allowed, through their marketing that this brand can become increasingly known. Nike is a well established company that has managed to get out of economic crises and demands, which also represents a threat to the assets of the company. Nike risk much as any brand with celebrities sponsoring by the fact that they may be involved in scandals, but it still retains its credibility as a firm around the world. Moreover, Nike is a company that is dedicated to their customers; it does not neglect any part of the business and react properly to any changes in the consumer behavior by taking steps that allow them to maintain a leading position in the market. This company is a leading innovator, they are alw ays looking to offer the best and satisfy consumer tastes even when the population is different. In conclusion, consumers are always going to prefer products from companies like Nike or Adidas because they have sold them the idea that their products are at the top of the market, and indeed, they are. Nike has an inelastic demand since the variation in the prices of their products does not affect the number of consumers that the brand has, again thanks to their marketing and advertising techniques. The countless ads that Nike publishes around the world are not specifically to view them, Nike have managed to create images that consumers hardly forget, innovative images. Consumers are always changing by the products they promote the more. Nike dominates and will continue to dominate the global sports market as its products are accessible and because they offer many promotions and discounts to their customers around the world, if Nike dominates this market nowadays is all thanks to its marketing beyond the quality or accessibility of its products. Source: http://nikesports.wikispaces.com/Finance â€Å"This chart demonstrates just how much of the market share for shoes Nike currently owns.† http://www.socialbakers.com//storage/www/daily-fan-growth-nike-vs.-adidas-originals-from-apr-01-2012-to-apr-30-2012.png This graph shows the ups and downs in demand for different brands of competition in the sports market from April 02 to April 30 that are not very different from nowadays. References: 1. Nike Inc. (NKE) -NYSE. [ONLINE] Available at: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=NKE. [Last Accessed 5/15/13]. 2. Dmitriy Kha. Monopolistic Competition.   Available at: http://mail.beaconhill.org/~dkha/data/Micro%20Lectures/Lecture%2011.pdf. [Last Accessed 5/14/13]. 3. Paige Adams, Haley Smith, Laura Freeman, Dan Lawson, Hayley Jacobs, Gage Mitchell. NIKE Industry and Company Analysis. Available at: http://kimboal.ba.ttu.edu/MGT%204380%20Fall%202012/001/NIKE%20Industry%20and%20Company%20Analysis.pptx. [Last Accessed 5/13/13] 4. John B. Taylor, Akila Weerapana, (2009). Principles of Microeconomics. 6th ed. Boston, MA, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin. 5. Avinash K. Dixit, Joseph E. Stiglitz. Monopolistic Competition and Optimum Product Diversity. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1831401. [Last Accessed 5/14/13].

Whether to Use Whether or If

Whether to Use Whether or If Whether to Use Whether or If Whether to Use Whether or If By Mark Nichol Sometimes, when it comes to deciding between using the word whether and employing the word if, the correct choice is obvious: â€Å"I don’t know if to turn the oven knob left or right† is obviously wrong, but the almost-identical statement â€Å"I don’t know if I should turn the oven knob left or right† is acceptable. However, because if implies probability, and whether indicates a choice between alternatives, in formal writing, the latter is more appropriate. Similarly, â€Å"I don’t remember if I turned the oven off† is correct, but because â€Å"I don’t remember whether I turned the oven off† more clearly expresses that two alternatives exist, it is better in formal contexts. â€Å"Turn the oven off if you are leaving† is a conditional sentence it involves probability, not choice and therefore if is correct. But â€Å"Turn the oven off whether or not you are leaving† conveys two alternatives, so whether is better. Note also the insertion of the phrase â€Å"or not† into the sentence: When the sense of whether is â€Å"regardless of the possible alternatives,† include the phrase. However, in such constructions as â€Å"I don’t remember whether I turned the oven off,† because whether already has a sense of â€Å"yes or no,† â€Å"or not† is redundant. The phrase â€Å"as to whether† to mean â€Å"about whether,† as in â€Å"I am unclear as to whether a decision has been made,† is correct, but it’s an unnecessary formality; â€Å"about whether† will do. The phrase is also somewhat pedantic in constructions such as â€Å"The question as to whether it will do any good hasn’t been answered.† Simplify to â€Å"Whether it will do any good hasn’t been determined.† When whether follows a noun such as decision, issue, or question, it should do just that, without the word of intervening, if the phrase appears in a sentence such as â€Å"They will make a decision whether we’re there or not.† (â€Å"Or not† is necessary here because the sense of whether is â€Å"regardless.†) But if the sentence structure is something like â€Å"It’s an issue of whether they’re qualified† (here, â€Å"or not† is superfluous), of is integral. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of PhrasesConfusing "Passed" with "Past"Practice or Practise?