Library Management System

Case study Computer Science Departmental Library By MERCY OKEOWO 08710007 FOR THE Award of Ordinary National Diploma In COMPUTER SCIENCE Of MOSHOOD ABIOLA POLYTECHNIC Abstracts Library management system is an aspect or branch of information management system that keeps the records of both the library users, books in the library and the activities that is going on in the library, activities like borrowing books and returning books. Information management in general is the collection and management of information from one or more source and distribution of the information to one or more audience.This sometimes involves those who a stake in or right to that information. Management means the organization of and control over the structure, processing, and delivery of information. In short information management entails organizing retrieving acquiring and maintaining information. It is closely related to and overlapping with the practice of data management. A good library manager must be a ble to take of the following activities in the library; †¢ Keep records of books in the library. †¢ Keep records of the library user. Keep track of books borrowed by any library user. †¢ Keep record of time a library user borrowed and return books. †¢ Do the following analysis after each day for decision making purpose ? Analysis of book borrowed by per day. ?Analysis of the type of book people requested for per day. ? Analysis of the author people read his/her book most per day. All the above analysis is needed due to the following reasons. ? To get the type of books people read most in the library to avoid congestion. To get the type of books from a particular author which people read most in the library so as to avoid congestion. INTRODUCTION Background to the study Information for the modern institution is a resource parallel in importance to land, and other factors of production. It is very vital and a prices less resources. For centuries, man has tried to c ollate, store, process and retrieve information and most importantly analysis of the data before distribute or communicate it by the available fast test mean.It follows, therefore that man has tried various ways and methods to record analyse and disseminate information in his attempts to proffer solution to low security of data, effective data communication, effective data analysis and lot more. Information therefore is data that have been processed into meaningful and usable form, and it contains knowledge that reduces uncertainly in particular situation and it is mostly useful in decision making. But unfortunately most people in this country do not have effective means of information management; the departmental library is a typical example of such.About The Old System Library is a place where books are kept are kept for student lecturers to come and read or borrow to their various home for reading, for the security of these books record of library user are needed to kept likewise record of available books in library are also needed to kept. The most important part of it is that the library attendant must keep record of who borrows and type of book some one borrowed along with the time in order to keep track of the book in library.For the improvement of library or updating of the library book, statistic or read and unread books are needed top kept so as to know which book to get more into the library, also to know which author the students or lecturer like to read their books and lot more. All the above activities are done manually; that is it involves someone writing down the name of the library users and list of books in the library, even to the extents of counting the number a book is read which can be in inaccurate which also exposes the book to risk of missing.The most disgusting thing is searching through the shelf for books to read which is done by manual library catalogue, this alone can discourage student from reading books in library where we have large number of books. Problem Statement and Motivation What motivated me to embark on this project is due to the following problem that is faced by the Computer Science Department Library. †¢ Searching through the library shelf for books to read will be boring and may not be encouraging. Searching through the record book to validate a library user may also be boring for the library keeper. †¢ Keeping tracks of borrowed books with the library user that borrowed it may not accurate which can lead to loss of books in the library. †¢ Conducting the analysis of books people read per day, analysis of author people read his/books per day may be difficult and inaccurate which affect the decision making of the library managers. †¢ Backing up of files or records may be very difficult because it can lead to repetitive task. Objective of the ResearchThe main objective of this research is to develop software (library Management Software) for the computer science department l ibrary which will be capable of managing the student information (library users) and the books in the library. The research is aimed at achieving the following objectives; †¢ To keep record of register student (library users). †¢ To improve the consistency of the information in the library. †¢ To improve the way analysis of books are conducted. †¢ To improve the security of information in the library. METHODOLOGY Information gatheringI gathered all the information above information by conducting an interview for the student (library user) and the library keeper. I chose to use java for developing the interfaces of the software and the database connectivity due to the following reasons; †¢ Java is platform independent programming language that can run on any type of operating system. †¢ Java is network programming language that can access over a network. †¢ Java is fast in execution. I have chose Microsoft Access Database for the database because of it flexibility and it easy access. Library Management System Case study Computer Science Departmental Library By MERCY OKEOWO 08710007 FOR THE Award of Ordinary National Diploma In COMPUTER SCIENCE Of MOSHOOD ABIOLA POLYTECHNIC Abstracts Library management system is an aspect or branch of information management system that keeps the records of both the library users, books in the library and the activities that is going on in the library, activities like borrowing books and returning books. Information management in general is the collection and management of information from one or more source and distribution of the information to one or more audience.This sometimes involves those who a stake in or right to that information. Management means the organization of and control over the structure, processing, and delivery of information. In short information management entails organizing retrieving acquiring and maintaining information. It is closely related to and overlapping with the practice of data management. A good library manager must be a ble to take of the following activities in the library; †¢ Keep records of books in the library. †¢ Keep records of the library user. Keep track of books borrowed by any library user. †¢ Keep record of time a library user borrowed and return books. †¢ Do the following analysis after each day for decision making purpose ? Analysis of book borrowed by per day. ?Analysis of the type of book people requested for per day. ? Analysis of the author people read his/her book most per day. All the above analysis is needed due to the following reasons. ? To get the type of books people read most in the library to avoid congestion. To get the type of books from a particular author which people read most in the library so as to avoid congestion. INTRODUCTION Background to the study Information for the modern institution is a resource parallel in importance to land, and other factors of production. It is very vital and a prices less resources. For centuries, man has tried to c ollate, store, process and retrieve information and most importantly analysis of the data before distribute or communicate it by the available fast test mean.It follows, therefore that man has tried various ways and methods to record analyse and disseminate information in his attempts to proffer solution to low security of data, effective data communication, effective data analysis and lot more. Information therefore is data that have been processed into meaningful and usable form, and it contains knowledge that reduces uncertainly in particular situation and it is mostly useful in decision making. But unfortunately most people in this country do not have effective means of information management; the departmental library is a typical example of such.About The Old System Library is a place where books are kept are kept for student lecturers to come and read or borrow to their various home for reading, for the security of these books record of library user are needed to kept likewise record of available books in library are also needed to kept. The most important part of it is that the library attendant must keep record of who borrows and type of book some one borrowed along with the time in order to keep track of the book in library.For the improvement of library or updating of the library book, statistic or read and unread books are needed top kept so as to know which book to get more into the library, also to know which author the students or lecturer like to read their books and lot more. All the above activities are done manually; that is it involves someone writing down the name of the library users and list of books in the library, even to the extents of counting the number a book is read which can be in inaccurate which also exposes the book to risk of missing.The most disgusting thing is searching through the shelf for books to read which is done by manual library catalogue, this alone can discourage student from reading books in library where we have large number of books. Problem Statement and Motivation What motivated me to embark on this project is due to the following problem that is faced by the Computer Science Department Library. †¢ Searching through the library shelf for books to read will be boring and may not be encouraging. Searching through the record book to validate a library user may also be boring for the library keeper. †¢ Keeping tracks of borrowed books with the library user that borrowed it may not accurate which can lead to loss of books in the library. †¢ Conducting the analysis of books people read per day, analysis of author people read his/books per day may be difficult and inaccurate which affect the decision making of the library managers. †¢ Backing up of files or records may be very difficult because it can lead to repetitive task. Objective of the ResearchThe main objective of this research is to develop software (library Management Software) for the computer science department l ibrary which will be capable of managing the student information (library users) and the books in the library. The research is aimed at achieving the following objectives; †¢ To keep record of register student (library users). †¢ To improve the consistency of the information in the library. †¢ To improve the way analysis of books are conducted. †¢ To improve the security of information in the library. METHODOLOGY Information gatheringI gathered all the information above information by conducting an interview for the student (library user) and the library keeper. I chose to use java for developing the interfaces of the software and the database connectivity due to the following reasons; †¢ Java is platform independent programming language that can run on any type of operating system. †¢ Java is network programming language that can access over a network. †¢ Java is fast in execution. I have chose Microsoft Access Database for the database because of it flexibility and it easy access.

Sample of Document

Entity:| Vietcombank| | Period ended:| 31/12/2012| Significant class of transactions/significant disclosure process name:| Credit origination – Transaction processing| | Significant class of transactions/ significant disclosure process owner:| Credit Policty at HODebt management division Client Division | |We obtain an understanding of the significant classes of transactions (SCOTs) and significant disclosure processes to identify and understand the risks of material misstatement at the assertion level (i. e. , what can go wrongs (WCGWs)) and, when applicable, to identify and understand the controls over the WCGWs. This template assists with completing S03 Understand significant classes of transactions and significant disclosure processes. Significant accounts affected and key business and financial statement risks related to these accounts: * Loan Acc * Interest Acc * Provision Acc * Expense Acc * Receivable Acc| Relevant assertions: * Valuation * Completeness * Right and Obl igation * Presentation and Disclosure * Existence | Nature of the SCOT (routine, non-routine, estimation): * Routine| Starting point (initiation) and timing of initiation and recording of the SCOT or significant disclosure process: * Customer’s application| Specific circumstances affecting the form and extent of the documentation: * None| Name of the IT application that supports the SCOT * | Inputs/outputs of the critical path of significant class of transactions/significant disclosure process| Inputs/outputs of the supporting IT application| Inputs: * | Inputs: * | Outputs: * | Outputs: * |Critical path (initiating, recording, processing, reporting, correcting incorrect information) We obtain an understanding of the SCOTs and the significant disclosure processes by obtaining an understanding of their critical path. The critical path includes: * Initiation: the point where the transaction first enters the entity’s process and is prepared and submitted for recording * R ecording: the point where the transaction is first recorded in the books and records of the entity * Processing: any changes, manipulation or transfers of the data in the books and records of the entity * Reporting: the point where the transaction is reported (i. e. posted) in the general ledger. When we obtain an understanding of the critical path, we obtain an understanding of how incorrectly processed information is detected and corrected on a timely basis. We also obtain an understanding of how transactions are accumulated and posted from the sub ledger to the general ledger, including controls over associated journal entries. We obtain an understanding of the policies and procedures in place that management uses to determine that directives are carried out and applied, including: * Authorization * Segregation of incompatible duties * Safeguarding of assets * Information processing * Performance reviewsWe use our understanding of the critical path and the policies and procedures to identify WCGWs and, when applicable, relevant controls. In the course of acquiring an understanding of the processing procedures, we frequently learn of many of the controls in use. Thus, while the emphasis at this point is not to identify the presence or absence of controls, we are alert to the possible absence of controls, and to the points at which errors could occur and controls are needed. We consider the effect IT has on the SCOTs and the significant disclosure processes. The manner in which we document our understanding of the SCOT or significant disclosure process is left to professional judgment of the engagement executives.However, for critical paths related to routine transactions, a graphical depiction of the flow (e. g. , flowchart), supported with narrative notes (e. g. , use of this template) normally provides for easier identification of the types of errors that can occur. No. | Describe the critical path for the significant class of transactions/significant disc losure process| Describe the automated aspects of the significant class of transactions/significant disclosure process, including: * Manual aspects that depend upon computer functionality or computer generated data * IT applications/infrastructure| 1 | Credit appraisal and granting proposal 1. 1. Loan application:For both HO and Branches, Credit Dept. s organised into 3 divisions:- Client and Project Investment (optional): responsible for receiving and appraising loan request, monitoring and finalizing/ liquidating the loan. – Debt Management: mainly responsible for storing credit contract and other supporting documents as well as updating required information into system; work with Client Division in monitoring the loan. And two Risk Management division : involved in credit approving process in terms of risk assessment. One is under HO and one is based on Ho Chi Minh CityFirstly, Client/ Project Investment officer receives client’s Loan Application and supporting docu ments – which are clearly stated in Article 14 – Decision 228/NHNT. HTQT: Lending Regulations1. 2.Loan appraisal: * Secondly, Based on documents obtained and the present credit regulations, Client/ Project Investment officer appraises client’s application under the following aspects: * Suitability (in relation to approved Credit limit, related regulations and current risk management policies of the bank) * Feasibility, efficiency and level of risk (if exist) related to client’s business plan * Solvency * Collaterals: Client officer who receives and appraises loan request also responsible for monitoring and appraising collateral. Deliverable of the officer at this stage is Collateral Appraisal Report (Form BD 1. 1. v002), including signature of client officer-in-charge and Head of Client Division.Regarding valuation, branches except for compulsory circumstances, are encouraged to cooperate with Independent Appraisal Firms (selected within the list of allow able firms, attached with Document 946/VCB. CSTD – Appendix 01). In case collateral is valued by VCB, Valuation Memo (Form 2. 2: Bien Ban Dinh Gia) must be prepared with signature of client and bank representative, under Decision 30/ VCB. CSTD. For collateral of over 20 billion VND, branch must send to HO the appraisal documents by Appraisal firm and Appraisal/ Periodic Revelation Report (Form BD 1. 2. v002), within 2 days since the reports are given their approving authority. | Manual | | * Next, Client/ Project Investment officer prepares and signs Report of Credit appraisal and granting proposal (Bao cao th? m d? h va D? xu? t c? p TD), following Form 1. 4A, 1. 4B and 1. 5. * The Report is then submitted to Head of Client/ Project Investment Division (TP KH) for revising and signing in case the deliverables of Client/ Project Investment officer are accepted. Otherwise, he/she needs to document reasons as well as additional opinions * Credit/ Project Investment officer then prepares submission documents. a) For clients granted Credit limit, Client officer submits to Branch’s Director/ Vice Director or Client Director (GD KH) for HO clients. b) For clients granted Credit limit but required by Credit limit approving authority (C? p th? m quy? n phe duy? ) to seek for higher authority’s approval when granting the loan, Client officer submits to both Branch’s Director/ Vice Director and the authority which is stated in Announcement of Credit limit Approval (Thong bao phe duy? t GHTD). If the higher authority is Local Credit Committee (HDTD co s? ), there is no need to submit to Branch’s Director/ Vice Director. c) For clients not yet granted or beyond Credit limit, Project Investment loan is issued. – Branch-based client: Client/ Project Investment officer submits to Local Credit Committee’s Director to organise meeting based on its Regulation on Operations. – HO-based client: Client/ Project Investment off icer submits to authorised Client Director. For the credit limits beyond authority of Client Director, submission is sent directly to HO’s Credit Risk Management Division for subsequent steps. Submission documents include: * Client’s Loan Request (original) * Report on Credit/ Project investment appraisal and granting proposal (original) * Credit Scoring and Rating Table (original) * Legal documents for new customers * Financial statements * Other relevant documents (if available)| | 2. | Loan approvalBased on Report of Credit appraisal and granting proposal, signed by Client officer and Head of Client Division together with supporting documents, the following parties in accordance with their specific authority will start the approving process:2. 1. Branch’s Director/ Vice Director * In case credit granted within Credit limit, Branch’s Director/ Vice Director approves the credit grant based on Report of Credit appraisal and granting proposal signed by Cli ent/ Project Investment officer and Branch’s Director/ Vice Director, as well as accompanying submission documents. In case credit is granted within Credit limit but required by Credit limit approving authority to seek for higher authority’s approval when granting the loan, Client officer submits to both Branch’s Director/ Vice Director and the required authority (If the higher authority is Local Credit Committee (HDTD co s? ), there is no need to submit to Branch’s Director/ Vice Director). 2. 2. Local Credit Committee * Following its Regulations on Organisation and Operations, Local Credit Committee’s Director organises meeting based on submission documents prepared by Client/ Project investment officer. This Committee includes Branch’s director, Vice director and head of Client, Investment project and Debt management division. Local Credit Committee approves credit grants which fall within its authority. Otherwise, based on acceptance opi nion of Local Credit Committee, submission documents are then sent to Risk Management Division by client officer for subsequent steps. * For branches under the processing range of HCM-based Risk Management Division, Client officer submits set of Loan Proposal documents directly to HO’s Risk Management Division and 1 copy of Loan Proposal Form (Form 3. 2) to HCM-based Division in case of beyond its authority. * Branch’s set of documents include: * The original Request for Loan approval Form 3. 2 (T? trinh d? ngh? phe duy? t tin d? ng/DTDA) signed by Local Credit Committee’s Director. A copy of Local Credit Committee’s Meeting minutes * Submission documents to Local Credit Committee| Manual| | 2. 3. Risk Management Division * Based on set of Loan Proposal documents from the Branch, Risk officer evaluates credit risks and prepare Credit Risk Assessment Report (Bao cao ra soat r? i ro c? p tin d? ng) using Form 2. 3A/2. 3B/2. 4 * The report is then signed by Risk officer before being submitted to at least 2 controllers of Risk Management Division, who later provides their approval plus signature. * Afterwards, Risk officer prepares and signs off every page of Announcement of Credit/ Project Investment Approval( Thong bao phe duy? t c? p tin d? ng/DTDA) Form 4. , before: * submitting to Head of Risk Management Division and Risk Management Director for signature; * sending an original to the proposing Branch; a copy to General Director as well as relevant Branches. 2. 5. HO-based clients/ projects within Client Director’s approving authorityCredit proposals under this case are only considered ‘approved’ when the Report of Credit appraisal and granting proposal is signed and given acceptance opinion by Client Director. Accordingly, Client/ Project investment officer prepares (Thong bao tac nghi? p) and transfers documents to HO Debt Management Division for storage, system entering and other subsequent steps. 2. 6.Risk M anagement Director and Client DirectorUnder this circumstance, Risk officer duplicates the steps within the approving authority of Risk Management Director as stated above. The proposal is only considered ‘approved’ when obtaining signature of both, except for either of them is absent. | | | 2. 7. Central Credit Committee * Central Credit Committee bases on Credit Risk Assessment Report (signed by at least 2 controllers of Risk Management Division) and Branch’s document set (original) prepared by Risk officer to call a meeting. * According to Meeting minutes, Risk Management Division prepares and signs off every page of Announcement of Credit/ Project Investment Approval (Form 4. 2) before submitting Director Central Credit Committee for signature. Then submit to: * Client Division at HO an original for subsequent steps * relevant Branches 01 copy * HCM-based Division a copy in case of approving the proposal of branches under its authority. 2. 8. Board of Directo rs * Under this circumstance, after being approved by Central Credit Committee, Risk Management Division prepares submission documents in accordance with Regulation of Loan grants under approving authority of BOD. * Risk Management Division then prepares Approval Announcement and sends documents in such a way as cases under Central Credit Committee’s authority; in which, documents to Debt Management Division must include Loan Approval Form by BOD. | | 3. | Making loan contract and collateral contractBased on approving results, Client officer continues to seek signature for loan and collateral contract. 3. 1.Loan contract/Collateral contract * Client/ Project Investment Division signs off (ky t? t) every page of loan contract/collateral contract and send to client for confirmation. After signing off by Client and Bank ‘s representer, Loan contract was sent to Accounting division and Debt management Division. collateral contract was sent to Storage division * If any disag reement arises, Client/ Project Investment officer must report to Head of Division. If necessary to amend content or approval conditions, Client/ Project Investment Division issues Form 1. 6: Report on Appraising and Proposing Credit Adjustment, submit to authorised bank representatives for approval. After obtaining client’s signature and original of collateral contracts, Client/ Project Investment Division register collateral transactions. * Client/ Project Investment officer prepares 02 (Thong bao tac nghi? p m? HDTD), sign off and submit to Head of Division for signature, before sending to Debt Management Division (relevant documents included) for storage and entering into system. * In case clients do not have CIF yet, Client Division prepares Thong bao tac nghiep mo so CIF (Form 5. 8) then sends to Transaction Accounting dept. to open new CIF. | Manual| 4. | Putting data into system and managing credit file * After signing loan contract, Client officer prepare and sign on â€Å"Thong bao tac nghiep m? h? p d? ng tin d? g† containing all information needed to put into system, conditions to disburse, a list of documents needed to store and special conditions needed to manage the loan. After that, debt management officer recheck and sign on â€Å"Thong bao tac nghiep†. * Basing on â€Å"Thong bao tac nghiep†, Debt Management officer is responsible for putting data into system. However, only when it is approved online by head/vice of debt management Division, will client data be disclosed on system. Debt Management officer stores all the documents listed on â€Å"thong bao tac nghiep†| IT Dependent| 5. | Disbursement of loanThe disbursement of loan involves the following steps which depend on the appointed approving authority.However, all of the appointed divisions are held responsible for checking the conformity of client’s withdrawal documents with credit contract. 5. 1. Client/ Project Investment DivisionIf withdraw al request is valid, Client officer prepares â€Å"Thong bao tac nghiep du dieu kien rut von† (Form 5. 4), signs off and submits to Division Head for signature before transferring documents to Debt Management officer for disbursement. 5. 2. Debt Management DivisionThe division directly receives withdrawal request from client and perform checking procedures. Client is required to amend information if found unsuitable. Otherwise, Debt Management officer starts disbursing the loan. 5. 3.Client/ Project Investment Division receiving request, Debt Management Division performing checking proceduresWithdrawal documents after being received and checked by Client officer, Debt Management officer takes over for disbursement, based on Credit Approval Announcement and Credit contract. If documents are found invalid, they are sent back to Client Division for completion. 5. 4. Higher authorityClient officer prepares â€Å"Thong bao tac nghiep du dieu kien rut von† (signed by him/her and Head of division). Afterwards, based on credit approval results, Client officer submits the above document and other supporting ones to higher authority. If approved, the documents are transferred to Debt Management for disbursement.The details of disbursement process are briefed as follows: * Debt Management officer opens loan account, fills in CIF, signs off Loan Receipt Note before updating into system for online approval of Division’s Head. * Next, the officer sends: * 01 Loan Receipt Note to client * 01 Loan Receipt Note and supporting documents to relevant departments for disbursement * The last Loan Receipt Note stored in the division. | IT Dependent| 6. | Post-disbursement Monitoring of Loan * At least every 6 months, Client/ Project Investment Division must recheck the loan usage status (usage purpose, collateral status, the balance between assets resulting from the loan and the outstanding balance).This is implemented in accordance with the predetermined plan ( monitoring schedule and methodology), which is proposed by Client officer when preparing Report of Credit appraisal and granting proposal or when â€Å"Thong bao tac nghiep† at the latest. * For collateral monitoring, the following aspects must be assured: * Status compared to previous visit * Forecasted revaluations * Client’s conformity in preserving collateral * Proposal to modify collateral management methods (optional) * Proposal to add/ replace collateral (optional) * Debt Management Division is held responsible for reminding Client/ Project Investment Division about loan monitoring schedule. The result must be documented on Loan Monitoring Records (Bien b? n Ki? m tra), which is signed by Borrower’s representative and submitted to Head of Client/ Project Investment Division for revision and comment. * In case Client/ Project Investment Division detects any signals of risk, officer takes the initiative to propose the corresponding solution (included in Loa n Monitoring Records) before submitting to Head of Division, Director of Client Division (for HO-based clients) or Branch’s Director/ Deputy Director. * After finalizing the Record, officer sends 01 original to Debt Management, 01 copy to Risk Management Division for co-monitoring. | Manual | 7. Credit Adjustment * Depending on the real situation and client’s demand after credit approval, credit adjustment can be made correspondingly. * Procedures of Credit Adjustment are conducted in the same manner as that of Credit Proposal and Approval (only those who are authorised to approve credit are able to approve credit adjustment). Client / investment project officer prepares Report of credit appraisal and credit adjustment- bao cao th? m d? nh va d? xu? t di? u ch? nh tin d? ng. At risk management division prepares Credit risk assessment for adjustment report – Bao cao ra soat r? i ro di? u ch? nh c? p tin d? ng. * Client/ Project Investment Division prepare Thong b ao tac nghi? p di? ch? nh HDTD. | Manual| 8. | Loan and interest collection * At least 10 days before due date, Debt Management officer prints out the list of loans and transfer to Client/ Project Investment Division whose officer prepares a document to inform clients and in charge of pushing clients to pay principal and interest * System automatic calculate interest income for loan group 1 * At the due date of loan, Debt Management officer prints out the report of principle and interest up to due date and checking. Then this report is submitted to Head of Debt management for approving. This report is then transferred to Accounting Division for collecting. If collected in cash, Client has to pay at first at Cash Division. ; after collecting enough and checking, Cash Division. will sign on â€Å"Deposit slip† (Cash receipt) then transfers Cash Receipt Note to Accounting Division for booking entry. * Accountant makes the following entries: * With principal collection:Dr. : Cash / BankCr. : Loan to Customer * With interest collection:Dr. : Cash/ BankCr. : Interest Income * Accounting voucher printed out and signed by controller and chief accountant. | Application A*N*t Interest = ————- 360*100 A: Outstanding balance N:Days (From the last payment day to the next payment day). t:interest rate | 9. Overdue Debt Management * When the loan turns into overdue, debt management officer sends a Reminding Letter to the customer (at least once a month), approved by the Head/Vice of Debt Management Division. This letter is transferred to clients and a copy is also to deliver to the credit officer. * If the customers still don’t make payment after more than 3 times received the Reminding Letter, credit officer proposes to the Head of Client/ Project Investment Division to work directly with the customer’s representative to cover the debt. * Client/ Project Investment Division combines with Risk Management Division and Legal Divi sion if necessary to protect all the interests of VCB. | 10. | Contract liquidation and Collateral Release Collateral * After the client pays all principle and interest, Debt Management officer prepares and signs on Loan Closing Announcement (Thong bao dong h? so vay). * Client officer informs client of Loan Contract Liquidation (Form 7. 2). * Debt Management officer hands over all relevant documents to Client/ Project Investment Division before the former Division transfers to clients and sends the original of Handover Record (signed by both handover and takeover) to Debt Management for storage purpose. * Finally, Client/ Project Investment Division cancel Collateral Transaction Registry. | |

The Symptoms of Asthma

Asthma is a chronic (long-term) disease that inflames and narrows the airways. The airways produce extra mucus and breathing becomes difficult. Asthma causes tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. Asthma affects people of all ages but usually starts in childhood. For some people asthma may just be a minor inconvenience for others it is a major problem that interferes with daily activities. Those that have severe asthma could incur a life threatening asthma attack. The symptoms of asthma range from person to person and vary from minor to severe. A person may have symptoms primarily at night, during exercise or when they may be exposed to certain triggers. Some people have asthma symptoms all the time others may have infrequent attacks and between flare-ups feel completely normal and have no trouble breathing. Situations that may induce an asthma flare up are: Exercise-induced asthma occurs during exercise and may be worse when the air is cold and dry, Occupational asthma is caused by breathing irritants such as chemical fumes, gases or dust, Allergy-induced asthma is triggered by particular allergens, such as pollen, molds and pet dander. Asthma is a very common disease. Twenty-two million Americans suffer from asthma, of that six million are children and the number of people being diagnosed grows each year. Factors that may increase your chance of developing asthma are: Having a blood relative (parent or sibling) with asthma, being overweight, being a smoker or exposure to second hand smoke, mother that smoked while being pregnant, low birth weight, exposure to exhaust fumes and other pollution such as chemicals used in farming/harvesting and manufacturing. Having an allergic condition such as allergic rhinitis (hay fever) or atopic dermatitis can also be a factor in having asthma. Other causes or risk factors may be exposure to allergens, certain germs or having some types of bacterial or viral infections. Research on these triggers is required to find out what role they play in developing asthma. Diagnosis of asthma can be difficult. In order to rule out any other conditions such as wheezy bronchitis, pneumonia or reactive airway disease, a doctor can perform a physical exam and ask you questions about your signs and symptoms. Lung (pulmonary) function tests can determine how much air you move in and out of your lungs. Several tests include: A Peak flow meter which measures how hard you can breathe out, Spirometry a test that measures the narrowing of your bronchial tubes by checking the amount of air exhaled after a deep breath and how fast you can breathe out. Other tests that can be done after your initial lung function test is normal are Methacholine challenge and Nitric oxide test. Asthma is an incurable disease that can be controlled by medication. The right medications depend on a number of things, including your age, your symptoms, your asthma triggers and what works best for an individual to keep it under control. Treatment usually involves learning to recognize the triggers and taking steps to avoid them, and tracking your breathing. Prevention and long -term control is the key to preventing asthma attacks.

Mills-pennisula radiology program Personal Statement

Mills-pennisula radiology program - Personal Statement Example I have a strong passion for working at the hospital but I have not been able to achieve my objectives due to some licensing issues. I write to ask for your kind consideration since this is the only program that can help me reach my goal of becoming a radiology technologist. This is also in consideration of the fact that my dream of becoming a qualified and registered radiologist and to practice in this area wholly depends on my ability to work and be awarded a well recognized certificate from a reputable institution. Before joining MRI school, I worked with the United Airline for more than 9 years in different positions. For instance, I worked at the customer service where I interacted with the clients for quite some time before being promoted to the position of customer service supervisor. In this position, I was able to gain some skills such as management skills that involve being able to mobilize resources in order to ensure the organization achieves its targets. This position also involved interacting with the clients, and therefore my social interaction skills were greatly improved considering the fact that I need to have good communication skills. Due to my high adaptability and flexible nature, I was further promoted to the position of resource supervisor. Working in this position made me learn vital management skills; it made me learn how to manage resources such as time, materials, and people. I was entrusted with all the organizational responsibilities, all of which I was able to carry out effectively. Carrying out these responsibilities improved my leadership skills, communication skills, and my ability to lead and supervise subordinates effectively. I have also learned how to run projects from the planning stage to their completion since the organization had some projects to complete. I have also worked at the MRI clinic which gave me a realization that it means a great deal being in a

CAPM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CAPM - Assignment Example CAPM has theoretical limitation, which include impractical assumptions and instability of the beta values. The Arbitrage Pricing Model and Rolls have criticized the theory indicating that it may be unreliable and invalid. This study will examine the theoretical limitations and criticisms of the theory. Theoretical Limitations of the Theory The theory argues that all investors are risk avoiders and that the returns are normally distributed (Ma, 2011). This is not the case because investors are normally risk takers who are willing to make huge returns when their predictions favor them and lose when they fail. Assuming that returns are normally distributed is also unfounded because investors are not usually sure of the yields on their assets (Ma, 2011). The assumption that assets are free from risk is also unrealistic because it is hard to find such stocks in the real world. The theory argues that short-term securities offered by the government are free from hazards because the state as sures investors certain returns on the assets. This is not the case because the risk on the assets is in the form of inflation, which is the instability of prices in the market (Ma, 2011). Inflation leads to the loss of value of money, and this means that, assets also lose their worth when prices rise in the economy. Since money loses its value then it means that investors face the risk of lower returns when their stock matures. For example, when the state pays 10% on its short-term bonds then inflation rises in the country by 2%, investors get 8% returns on their securities in real terms. This means that investors face the risk of inflation, which reduces their earnings. This also indicates that the CAPM model is applicable in an ideal world, an occurrence that is impossible (Ma, 2011). Roll’s Critique of CAPM Roll criticizes the validity of the Capital Asset Pricing Model equation. The equation is as indicated below: E(Ri) =RF +?i [E(RM) - RF] Where E(Ri) represents the yie ld on security i. RF is the risk free rate of return. Bi is the market risk that security i faces. Roll’s first critique was that the model could not be tested using current data because it is constructed based on historical data. The impossibility of testing the model arises from the fact that it is based on market values of stocks, real estates, jewelers, and labor. Rolls argue that it is impossible to find the market value of this portfolio because no accurate data of these factors exists in reality. Thus, Roll argues that the CAPM cannot be proven right or wrong because of the impossibility of getting accurate data (Ma, 2011). Roll argues that economic models should be easy to test using future data because they simplify the real life. However, according to him, CAPM is complex because of the inability of being tested using future data, and this makes it unreliable. Roll also postulates that it is impossible to get efficient stocks whose values and rates of return have li near relationships ideally (Ma, 2011). Therefore, Rolls argument generally argues that CAPM is unreliable because it has never been tested using real data, and it is still impossible to do so because of uncertainty of prices, which is common in the real world. Arbitrage Pricing Model (APM) The APM addresses the weaknesses of CAPM by doing away with the assumption that the

Crimes against Property, People, and Public Order Term Paper - 1

Crimes against Property, People, and Public Order - Term Paper Example nt in the case of kidnapping is that there should be a movement of the victim, the distance being immaterial although the laws have tired to distinguish kidnapping with other kinds of criminal acts like rape, assault or robbery wherein a certain degree of movement is also perceptible. Next, coming to the classification of this crime, it is indeed a crime against a person, or people, because what is being done in the case of kidnapping is the forceful movement of a person from one place to another, against his or her free will or consent. The crime is against the person and not against property or public order, although these aspects could also form additional facets of kidnapping. However, in most cases, kidnapping is seen as a crime against a person. In the People v. Chessman case, the question of kidnapping is highlighted. Caryl Chessman was a noted criminal with a major track record and had spent most of his adult life in jail. At that time, under Californian Little Lindbergh laws , any crime that also involved kidnapping with physical harm was considered a capital offense and warranted the death penalty. One of his crimes relates to dragging a young girl a short distance from her car. The courts felt that this movement of a short distance was enough to invoke kidnapping laws and thus made Chessman liable for the death penalty. â€Å"The jury verdicted that one of the kidnapping counts included bodily harm of the victim. Under Californias "Little Lindbergh" law passed in 1933, in cases involving kidnapping with bodily harm the sentence was either life in prison without possibility of parole or death. The jury did not recommend mercy, so death in the gas chamber was the automatic sentence for Chessman† (Chessman 1958). Next, it is necessary to come to the aspect of first degree murder. This involves the deliberate and planned snuffing out of the life of another person with wicked intentions. The mens rea of first degree murder is premeditated and calculated

Managing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 3

Managing - Essay Example He perceives power as dispersed as opposed to previous conceptions of power as concentrated and possessed. He also views power as conversational rather than virtuously coercive. The terms ‘power and knowledge’ are applied by Foucault to suggest that power is founded through recognized forms of knowledge, logical understanding and reality. This paper reflects and explains Foucault’s claim by focusing on managerial work and management power/roles. It discusses Foucault’s body of work on power and discipline. It supports Foucault’s approach withreference to published empirical examples. The paper also depicts the application of Foucault’s approach to power and order to management practice. Pfeffer (1993) defines power as the deliberate inducement on the opinions, feelings and conduct of people to achieve a particular objective. In the absence of power, cooperation among people may not be achieved and hence social order cannot be achieved. Power in organizations is manifest in leaders who apply different means of exercising the power vested in them to accomplish their goals. Foucault (1977) asserts that people in positions of power exercise it as opposed to possessing it. In other words, positions of power have been created in organizations as a strategy to develop infrastructure for enhancement of discipline. It therefore does not matter who possesses the power as such a person can be replaced by another and power in the organization will remain. Power forms the political structures of social organizations that operate to initiate the non-egalitarian and disproportionate relations. Organizations are established through human relations, which are characterised by inher ent power (Knights and Willmott, 1989). Power is therefore not restricted to an individual but rather is engaged and implemented through a

A Comparison between Islamic and Non-Islamic banks and companies in Research Paper

A Comparison between Islamic and Non-Islamic banks and companies in terms - Research Paper Example The key difference of the two banks is that, The Islamic Banking is based on Sharia foundation. And therefore, all its transaction, business approach, investment focus, product feature, responsibility and many more are derived from the Shariah law, this lead to the significant difference in many part of its operations with as that of the conventional banks.Furthermore,the foundation of Islamic bank is based on the Islamic faith and tends to stay just within the within the limits of this Islamic Laws or the Shariah to be specific in all of its operations and decisions. The Arabic word Shariah has means; the way to the source of life Being the first National bank in Qatar, The Qatar national bank was the first bank to launch a financial services subsidiary. The bank then launched the launch of QNB Financial Services in the year 2011. Through this project, the bank has offered a range of financial services to both the domestic and international institutional investors. As it continues to grow, the QNB is determined to place itself as a leading financial institution that is able to use its assets in making positive difference throughout its market ,the bank therefore seems to be the pace setter for the other Banks like the Commercial Bank of Qatar The financial market of Qatar is considered small and hence relies on its regional dimension. The GCC investments contributes on the Qatar Stock Exchange estimated at 62.5 billion ($17 billion) Qatari riyal .Generally the Qatar economy depends on its neighbors when it comes to trade, more specifically Saudi Arabia, in consideration to export and import and also marketing of Qatar products. The Qatar economy really depends on its Gas. The Qatar gas is the worlds largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) company. It produces annually and supplies the globe with over 42 million metric tons of LNG from across its four

A Report on a Research to Identify the Best Practice to Implement in Essay

A Report on a Research to Identify the Best Practice to Implement in the Field at Electrocom Ltd - Essay Example The paper defines the concept of organisational learning and its applicability to Electrocom Ltd. Three areas have been explored and they include a review of the use of strategy by an organisation as a process of learning, the structure and systems in use at Electrocom Ltd, and teamwork and leadership roles are discussed in relation to organisational learning. According to Senge (1992), a learning organisation is â€Å"...a place where people continually expand their capacity to create results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning how to learn† (p. 1). Furthermore, he developed an organisational learning framework based on five disciplines namely personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking. These disciplines, which served as a representation of the long term learning practice for both the individual and the organisati on, are discussed below (Senge, 1992): Personal Mastery – this is where individual employees develop their own capabilities in delivery of desired results. In addition, employees create a society in which all colleagues are encouraged to improve themselves in accordance with the organisational goals and objectives. Mental Models – through reflection, individuals continually clarify, rectify, and improve their personal view of the world as well as see how they model decisions and individual actions. Shared Vision – individuals establish workgroups within which they build a committed spirit to develop a shared image of universal desires and guiding principles and practices which will support the vision. Team Learning – this is where relevant thinking skills of different groups of people enable them develop intelligence and an ability greater than the talent of each individual member put together. Systems Thinking – this is the language used to unders tand and describe the relationships and forces that shape the system’s behaviour. This discipline helps employees and managers at the same level to develop a way to effectively change the systems and act in accordance with economic and natural processes of the world. Organisational learning is the ideal concept of coping with change in an organisation as it engages the minds and hearts of all participating staff in a continuous and harmonious change that is productive and designed to achieve genuine results wanted by the stakeholders of the organisation (Covey, 1992). This process enables individuals to be creative and learn collectively to develop and encourage innovation and ability to respond to global competition rapidly. In short, organisational learning encompasses constant smartness as the learning process is planned, systematic and in accordance with the strategic goals of the organisation. Electrocom Ltd is working towards establishing competencies that are consisten t with attributes of organisational learning. During this period of transformation, Electrocom Ltd is expected to undergo organisational change that is directed towards flexibility of the organisation in terms of responding to the competitive market changes. Emphasis has been placed on cross-functional teaming and establishment of programs to enable people to contribute greatly to the development of the organisation. Electrocom Ltd is an electronics company based in North West, employing around 700 employees. It

Idea book Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Idea book - Article Example I am an iPhone smartphone. Im the latest brand of the latest smartphone in the smartphone world filled with technological gizmos. I am friends with the internet to whom we share a very deep bond of friendship we regularly interact and exchange information. I don’t lie to be on the computer because she is jealous of my relationship with the internet. Teamwork on the social media platforms can be illustrated in various ways, for instance liking a comment or retweeting a post by someone. This shows solidarity with an idea that someone has put forth through the post. The creative process that goes on in my mind before I post a statement, comment or picture has various levels of thought put into them. Firstly, the post has to have context and I for this instance define context to mean it has to conform to the trending topic or if Im commenting on a persons message I have to keep it on the issue we are talking about. Secondly, unless the trend is tragic, I try to make humor about it as much as I can. Third in terms of the photos I post I try to make each unique with a different subject always but always showing the best possible version of myself. The mind map shows a correlation of thoughts, attitudes and principles that are revealed through the various social media platforms. The mind map also gives perspective to all these information, thus making it more credible and fitting to the context in which they are used. Two of my friends are Ann and Julien. Ann is a perfectionist, she likes slow and soulful music, dislikes public transport, her cake is that she likes candy at night and has some before she sleeps. She believes in God and humanity and chooses to see the good in people rather than the bad, the niche id put her in is that of creative friends. Julien is hardworking, he likes hip hop music, especially Jay-Z he doesn’t like lazy people. His quirk is that he studies, best under loud music and as a

Ethical Challenges for Non-Profits Research Paper

Ethical Challenges for Non-Profits - Research Paper Example These organizations perform a vital function and oftentimes subject only the guidance of their benefactors. Their workers fight many fronts, in diverse fields, such as helping eliminate racial discrimination, poverty, diseases, hunger and political persecution, for example. They provide an important service which is often not very much appreciated and in many instances, overlooked because they work without much fanfare. A good example are religious organizations which provide food or soup kitchens, helping homeless people get a warm meal in the middle of winter. Their efforts cannot be underestimated for they fill in the gaps where the government and the private sectors fail at times. By working and aiding the marginalized sectors of society, they provide hope and meaning to many lives. There are many pitfalls and benefits to capitalism but one of the most egregious failures is that certain sectors of society can get left out. Globalisation has been increasing due to the big innovati ons in communications and technology which helped move people, goods and services much easier worldwide, as shown by higher flows of capital in foreign direct investments (FDI) but one drawback is that in some instances, some people ended up poorer instead of being richer. People with conscience are rightly concerned with this inequality and this gave rise to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and this paper takes a deeper look at one aspect of this issue. Discussion Corporate social responsibility had become a buzzword in business sectors because it is now considered a part of doing business; it is one form how an economic entity gives back to the community which has sustained it and is now generally conceded a part of continuing success. A good number of big or global organizations have adopted CSR as a part of their business model. It is now an integral part of doing business, and in this connection, many of them had developed their own models of doing so. The lofty goals of C SR evolved from its own attempts of having a good code of ethics in the wake of some previously questionable business practices; the goals are intended to make a company compliant with legal regulations, ethical and moral standards, and a good way to practice and embrace generally-accepted international norms of doing business. The prevalence of CSR today had been partly due to the active advocacies of nonprofit groups in the prior years which are now bearing the fruits of their work only today. A good CSR policy put in place guides the firm in making the best decisions for all stakeholders involved. A business firm can opt for several modes in how to go about implementing its CSR but three forms have been suggested within the context of this issue in which there are some nagging concerns on how best to execute a CSR policy in view of their profit motives as for-profit firms. A key issue involved is one of costs, in which funds and resources devoted to this policy can be evaluated i n terms of their efficiency and effectiveness. Activities and funds related to CSR must be maximized and the three options are to contribute (giving to charitable or nonprofit groups), to collaborate (by working closely and partnering with a chosen nonprofit organization) or lastly, to just build up an in-house program

The Secular Progressives vs. The Traditionalists Essay Example for Free

The Secular Progressives vs. The Traditionalists Essay In the New York Times best selling book from Fox News Commentator and mediator for The O’Reilly factor, Bill O’Reilly in his book Culture Warrior, defines and separates the two main competitors for the culture of America: The Secular Progressives vs. The Traditionalists. O’Reilly sees this battle as much more important than the more known and easily recognized conservatives vs. liberals and consequently sees the stakes as being that much more important as well with the winner deciding the fate of America policies, both foreign and especially domestic, for generations to come. As a self proclaimed culture warrior, O’Reilly puts himself center stage in this debate as he boasts that he sees himself as one of the most hated men in America as a result of his views on the media and other secular progressives and what he views as their destruction of the core values that has helped to make America great. â€Å"The culture war has also made me perhaps the most controversial broadcaster in the country. That hot-button label controversial gives my enemies, they think, the right to attack me and my enterprises ceaselessly, unfairly, even dementedly. I truly drive the opposing force nuts! As you may know, Im engaged in fighting them on a daily basis, and that warfare is the subject of this book. † ( O’Reilly, 5) And regardless of one’s opinions on Mr. O’Reilly, that is exactly what he does since he points out that one of the most important aspects of being a traditionalist is keeping your word. O’Reilly shows how the culture war has played out in such high profile cases as The Passion of the Christ, Fahrenheit 9/11 and the battle against religion in public life. O’Reilly also touches on race, education, the protection of children, the ACLU and the war against Christmas which according to O’Reilly has seen an escalation in recent years in favor of political correctness which has run out of control. Bill O’Reilly enjoys high ratings and stellar book sales because he pinpoints the moral decline in America that millions of Americans agree is happening in America. At the same time, the name Bill O’Reilly also invokes many an impassioned opinion with many Americans hating what he has to say and according to O’Reilly, have levied death threats against himself and his family for his outspoken views. As someone who has read this book and is well aware of the impact that O’Reilly has on American media, either in an affective way, either positive or negative, the opinions of the author always do invoke a response from individuals. Whatever controversies are the hot topic in the news, O’Reilly fearlessly confronts them and the reader, regardless of his political affiliation, is not left wondering what side of the isle O’Reilly is on. He sees many aspects of life in black and white and is both revered and hated for such beliefs. â€Å"The culture war must be won quickly and definitively, and the best way to do that is to expose the secular-progressive movement in our country for exactly what it is, to explain why it is so harmful for America, and to identify the movements top leaders. So here we go! † ( O’Reilly, 6) O’Reilly, towards the end of the book concedes that this will be a tough fight and that they winner is not set in stone. Therefore, expect more books of the same genre in the future from Bill O’Reilly. In the 200 pages of Culture Warrior, O’Reilly wastes no time in starting his unapologetic attacks on a wide variety of interests in America. â€Å"For a variety of reasons that I will explain, I have chosen to jump into the fray and become a warrior in the vicious culture war that is currently under way in the United States of America. And war is exactly the right term. On one side of the battlefield are the armies of the traditionalists like me, people who believe the United States was well founded and has done enormous good for the world. † (O’Reilly, 10) According to O’Reilly, an example of the influence of the secular progressives’ power and influence in American culture is the war on Christmas perpetuated by the chief of all secular progressives: The ACLU. â€Å"Gradually, Christmas trees did become ‘holiday trees,’ Christmas vacation became winter vacation and Christmas parades became â€Å"Festival of Lights. † (O’Reilly, 45) In America, between 80-85% of its citizens define themselves as Christians. Yet, O’Reilly points out the push by the secular progressives on the country towards a more religiously neutral celebration of the holidays. The word â€Å"Christmas† and â€Å"Merry Christmas† is no longer politically correct to say, but the more neutral â€Å"Happy Holidays. † Christmas trees are being replaced by Holiday trees even though their resemblance is the same. Using the term Christmas to describe the 25th of December as the birth of Jesus, and subsequently, the reason for the celebration is seen as oppressive to the minority in America that do not celebrate Christmas and therefore feel out of place during the Christmas season. On the other side of the isle are the traditionalists who see this as an assault on Christmas and political correctness gone too far and is out of touch with the majority of American in this country. O’Reilly identifies the actions of the secular progressives as efforts to move America into being identified as neutral when it comes to religious issues. In doing so, O’Reilly sees this trend as being in opposition to the motivations of the country’s founding fathers; that, the majority were very religious and their mention of God can frequently be found in their personal writings. O’Reilly outs the ACLU as center stage in his fight against the secular progressives. O’Reilly gives them credit for the lambasting of Christmas, the neutralization of religion in public life and for all sorts of moral degradations in American culture. This fight against the ACLU will not be completed any time soon and will most likely be seen in O’Reilly’s next book to be sure. O’Reilly points out in another example of the ideological differences between the secular progressives and traditionalists are their respective views on government and the desired role that each side wishes would play in their life. â€Å"On the home front in America, traditional forces strongly believe that their hard-earned money is not the property of the government, to be distributed as largesse to others who, perhaps, are not willing to work to earn their prosperity. †( O’Reilly, 75) O’Reilly points to Europe and the stagnation of the economy that many of the nations are enduring. There is little motivation to work and to get ahead in life because of the high level of taxation and the desire of the secular progressives to copy America’s government involvement after that of Europe’s. O’Reilly says that the secular progressives wish to drastically increase taxes and therefore, kill the incentives that many Americans have to be independent and to work for what they have instead of high taxations creating a cradle for people who do not wish to work. O’Reilly wishes to avoid America moving in that direction and that America’s economy remain independent of high taxes which would fund such social programs like handing out clean needles to drug addicts, condoms to students and free money to people who do not wish to work. Such ideas firmly place O’Reilly among the traditionalists of America and that is where he is likely to stay. Among one of O’Reilly’s most impassioned rants he saved towards the end of the book. It is against the people who seem to rant against America and all that is supposed to be wrong with her. In the chapter entitled â€Å"Hating America,† O’Reilly lists the people in the spotlight that seem to do their best to degrade America and the greatness that O’Reilly sees on a daily basis. O’Reilly, who is in opposition to the ideology of Norman Mailer but one who respects him, details the differences in their thinking concerning conservatives vs. liberals and for O’Reilly traditionalists vs. secular progressives and their opinion on America. â€Å"A good example of the useful face-off between polar opposites was my interview with Norma Mailer in March of 2006. One of America’s great writers, mailer doesn’t hate America but he finds it seriously flawed-as you know, a core secular progressive tenet. But mailer separates himself from the S-P garrison because he sees its weaknesses, selfishness and relativism. . . . Mailer says: ‘A great war is going on here, larger even that we realize, between liberals and the conservatives. The conservatives are saying in effect: ‘You guys are trying to wreck existence by becoming too vain, too godless. † And liberals are replying, â€Å"Your obsession that God is judgmental looks to force all of humanity into rigid patterns that won’t work any longer. † (O’Reilly, 120) O’Reilly thinks that Mailer is incorrect but unlike his personal detractors, does so in a respectful manner. â€Å"But Mailer is wrong. Traditional and conservative thinkers who understand their country do not put God at the head of public policy, nor do we point fingers at the opposition and label them sinners. Traditionalists believe that secular-progressive policies will weaken America and lead to societal chaos. While we see no reason to banish God from the public square, we don’t expect Him to be writing social policy on tablets and handing them to us in the Sinai. † ( O’Reilly, 193) O’Reilly does state the importance of the Bible and that it must be on the reading list of every true traditionalist but that a traditionalist will not be zealots in their pursuit of establishing a theocracy in America. In the second phase of secular progressives’ view that America is seriously flawed is their desire for America to no longer be the lone superpower in the world. â€Å"The secular progressive movement wants the United States to decline in power. It wants a new world order where global consensus would rule and the superpower model for our time would recede into obsolescence. †(O’Reilly, 194) But O’Reilly accurately points out a different side towards America’s effect in the world and an effect that is central to traditionalists’ opinion of America and of her greatness. â€Å" By contrast, the T-warrior will fight to keep, even increase America’s vast power. Why? Because T-warriors understand that the United States is a righteous country that has in our brief history freed billions of people from political enslavement. It is our might and money that brought down Tojo, Hitler and the Soviet Union†¦ If we go into decline, the world would be a much more dangerous place. Can you picture Russia and communist China dominating the world? How about the combined Arab states? † (O’Reilly, 194 Journalist as defined by O’Reilly, the answer is a resounding NO! The greatest strength of O’Reilly and the strength that makes him so successful can sometimes be one of his weaknesses: arrogance. Many of his points go beyond liberal or conservative, secularist or conservative but for the others, it might be seen as relative as it depends on the reader to make the final decision since the decline of morals or whether ignoring America’s religious foundations is a good or bad thing may never fully answered in this lifetime and in this country. But such topics are always good for material since millions of Americans do closely follow O’Reilly on the radio and on television. The reader’s view on the Culture Warrior depends upon their religious and political leanings. If one feels that the existence of a liberal media that wishes America’s influence in the world to be curtailed is greatly exaggerated and America’s declining morals either doesn’t exist or is not important, Culture Warrior will evoke a strong and negative response. However, on the other hand, if one defines himself as a conservative and/or traditionalist, then the topics that O’Reilly details will hit its mark. And for millions of Americans, it does just that. This is an important and entertaining book that, like much of what O’Reilly does and says, will spark many needed discussions around the classrooms and water coolers of America. O’Reilly is effective when it comes to seeing and articulating issues of importance in today’s ever changing society and most importantly, it is a window into the mindset of millions of Americans.

Human Resources Culture Makes for Top Employer

Human Resources Culture Makes for Top Employer Vincent M. Mendez In 1966 at the North Carolina State University (NCSU), individuals from eight other universities where brought together by the National Institute of Health (NIH). The purpose of this group of individuals was to develop software to analyze data being developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The original product was identified as Statistical Analysis System (SAS). This gave way to both the name and corporate beginnings. In 1972 NIH ended funding for the project. When funding ended the members of the team decided to each contribute $5,000.00 a year to continue the project at NCSU. Over the next few years SAS software was licensed to various companies across the business spectrum. As more business requested the software it was determined in 1976 by the original developers to privatize their efforts. SAS Institute Inc. originated at 2806 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, North Carolina (NC), building located across the street from NCSU. In the beginning the small business relied on everyone in the business to know and do everyone elses job. When a shipment of users manuals arrived, everyone stopped what they were doing and formed a human chain to hoist each box, person to person, to storage space on the second floor. (SAS Institute Inc., 2016). Throughout the rest of the seventies SAS continued to grow and add employees. SAS also expanded into the global market opening subsidiary office overseas. In 1980 SAS moved to its current Headquarters location in Cary, NC. What makes SAS Institute Inc. a great place to work. CEO James Goodnight put it best in interview by Angus Loten for CIO Journal by The Wall Street Journal. The culture is the heart of the company and started in the beginning. The question and answer follows: SAS is often cited as a great place to work. Why is it important for you to keep workers happy? Because we are maintaining software for years and years, and constantly improving it and adding new features and capabilities, its very important to retain the people who originally wrote it. To do that, weve tried to create a culture where we have a great deal of respect for people and that rewards innovation. We have a weekly meeting every Tuesday where we have any number of people will come over and do demos of what theyre working on, for upper management, so we get a constant view of all the new things people are working on. (Loten, 2016). Culture is the key to SAS Institute Inc. success. Employee satisfaction along with showing their value to the company, was always at the beginning of the corporate culture of SAS. Early employees have related that in the beginning on Hillsborough street, James H. Goodnight (co-founder and current CEO) would take everyone in his car down the street to the pizza place. The company paid for everything during these outings. This was a regular occurrence when 100 customers where added. Flexible work schedules along with free MMs and breakfast goodies were present from the beginning. SAS posted its first company bulletin in 1978, which was type written on a single page of paper and posted on the bulletin board. Technology was not the only innovation SAS was a leader. In the year after moving to their new location in Cary, NC, SAS broke new ground opening the first employee child care center in the basement of the Headquarters building. This was decision by the company to keep employees (valuable programmers) considered not returning to work after pregnancy. At this point in time this was an idea not even considered by companies. This goes back to the interview Goodnight had with the Wall Street Journal in early 2016. These ideas began with the formation of the company and years before this type of information was identified as Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). This was the first of the ideas which made SAS a leading company to work for world wide. However, this was not the end. Following the opening of the daycare center, SAS took employee needs to a whole other level. At their headquarters campus, they open a recreation and fitness center. A health care center was open on the campus to support employees and families. This was followed by the opening of a gourmet cafà © to serve meals to employees. These additions garnered SAS awards to include Healthiest Company to Work For by Health and Living Magazine. The health care center has been a valuable to both SAS and their employees. Confirmation by a study conducted in conjunction with Duke Health. The finding was reported in a news release from SAS. Key point was the health care center lead to lower costs for both SAS and employees. For 30 years, analytics leader SAS has operated an on-site Health Care Center (HCC) for the convenience of employees and dependents. Now, a new study led by researchers at Duke Health finds those who use the HCC for primary care are less likely to need emergency department visits or hospitalizations than those who do not. (SAS Institute Inc., 2016). SAS highlights these benefits by providing them to all employees regardless of location. This type of culture is proof of success in that over the years has kept a turnover rate to around four percent. Employees, which are in 149 countries, are provided the same services as those at the Headquarters in North Carolina. Now it is not feasible to build and sustain medical clinics at all these location, the company has adapted ways to provide these services. For instance, in remote locations benefits such as childcare and medical are subsidized with local service providers. SAS does not hide it success in employee satisfaction. This is evident by visiting their website (http://www.sas.com/en_us/careers/life-at-sas.html). At this location, the company outlines what a career with SAS would be like. The headline here is this quote: By taking care of our employees, the rest takes care of itself (SAS Institute Inc., 2016). This location further discusses the culture and benefits. By separating these two areas the company can show its commitment to employees. Under the umbrella of culture there are eight areas discussed. These all relate to the company and how it manages work environment such as: open style of management to worker relationship, work conditions (college style campus at headquarters location), continuing employee growth, flexible work schedule allowing time during the day for fun and fitness, return investments (education and volunteer), and conservation. Benefits discusses four areas pertaining directly to the employee: money, career, health, and life. The founders of SAS had a vision and in that vison had the forethought that to succeed the company would not only have to provide a top line product but employ top line people. This has made for adjustments to business strategies, which requires changes to SHRM, easy and transparent. In other words: Organization development is a systematic approach to improving organizational capability, ie the capacity of an organization to function effectively in order to achieve desired results (Armstrong, 2016, p. 96). The company culture provides for change and growth. This type of corporate culture emulates SHRM. Much research has been carried out, which has shown that there is a correlation between good HRM practice and organizational performance. (Armstrong, 2016, p. 17). Being on the forefront of ideas which are now identified in discussions related to SHRM helps keep SAS as a leading place to work. The key to this is how to maintain and go forward into the future. SAS continues to be a leading place to work for many years. In 2016 Fortune ranked SAS the number two global company to work for. The reasons for the ranking came from Great Place to Work  ® reviews which related: At SAS Institute Inc., 94 percent of employees say their workplace is great (Great Place to Work, 2016). The survey provided a review of what employees think about the company and lists all the perks and programs SAS provides. What was discussed in this paper seems to be just the tip of the benefits. SAS by being far advanced in the idea of SHRM continues to adapt and change to new world and technological developments. In doing so has never forgotten to provide new and current customers great products and services requires those employees who got them in the first place. These practices has kept SAS a leader is analytical analysis and employee satisfaction. References Armstrong, M. (2016). Handbook of Strategic Human Resource Management. In M. Armstrong, Handbook of Strategic Human Resource Management (p. 17 p. 96). Philadelphia: Kogan Page Ltd. Great Place to Work. (2016, Aug 24). Great Place to Work SAS Institute Inc. Retrieved from Great Place to Work: http://reviews.greatplacetowork.com/sas Loten, A. (2016, Mar 08). SAS Institute CEO, the Godfather of Analytics, Sees Future in the Past. Retrieved from The Wall Street Journal, CIO Journal: http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2016/03/08/sas-institute-ceo-the-godfather-of-analytics-sees-future-in-the-past/ SAS Institute Inc. (2016, Feb 03). Fewer ER, hospital visits for employer health center patients, per major academic medical center study. Cary, NC. Retrieved Dec 27, 2016, from http://www.sas.com/en_us/news/press-releases/2016/february/sas-duke-study-employer-health-care-centers.html SAS Institute Inc. (2016, May 10). Life at SAS. Retrieved 2016, from SAS, Careers, Life at SAS: http://www.sas.com/en_us/careers/life-at-sas.html SAS Institute Inc. (2016). SAS Institute Inc. Company Information. Retrieved Dec 27, 2016, from Company History 1976-1980: www.sas.com/en-us/company-infomation.html#1976-1980

diversity in organizations

diversity in organizations Introduction This paper aims to show a deep examination of how diversity is interpreted and wrongfully applied in many organizations today. In this essay, I would explore and discuss the term â€Å"Diversity†, its definitions, merits, demerits, its varied applications and if there is a cause and effect relationship between diversity workforce and organizational effectiveness. This essay would also show why the term diversity is remotely satisfying and elaborate on the need for a new paradigm for understanding Diversity. My study supports the principles of the Diversity theory but not its varied applications which inhibit organizational effectiveness. Diversity The term â€Å"diversity† has found its place in almost all HRM literature; the front page. Jackson et al (1993), states that â€Å"the term diversity has little history within the behavioural sciences and is not (yet) a scientific construct. Instead, it is an everyday term that sprang to life rather recently, nourished by widespread media coverage of the â€Å"managing diversity† activities that organizations are adopting in response to changing work-force demographics. Nevertheless, the body of social science research relevant to understanding the dynamics of diversity in organizations is not large, although it is widely dispersed across sub disciplines that cross reference each other nor have a common terminology† (See Friedman, 1996:67). Another interesting definition is found in Ashkanasy et al (2002) which defines diversity as a concept that â€Å"encompasses acceptance and respect. It means the understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual differences. They can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs and other ideologies and the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive and nurturing environment. Diversity is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual† Allen et al (2008) asserts that diversity is a challenge and that â€Å"organizations have struggled to embrace and manage it successfully. Researchers have struggled to conceptualize and study the term effectively. Theorists predict differing effects of Diversity: that they will spark integrative insights, creativity and innovation (e.g. Finkelstein and Hambrick, 1996; Hoffman and Maier, 1961) or that they will provoke conflict, division and dissolution (e.g. Chatman, 1991; Tajfel and Turner, 1979)†. Workforce Diversity (A Critical Analysis) Structural Diversity Vs Demographic Diversity â€Å"The demographics of the workforce are changing and will continue to change rapidly. Almost every organization looks different – both in terms of who’s employed and they positions they hold, than it did ten years ago† (Sonnenschien, 1999:2). Jackson et al (1995) also asserts that the â€Å"changing work-force demographics and new organizational forms are increasing the diversity of work teams in general and decision making teams in particular. Given these environmental changes, work teams that are diverse in terms of sex, race, and ethnicity, national origin, area of expertise, organizational affiliation and many other personal characteristics are increasingly common. The changing demographics of today’s labour force, account for the increasing gender diversity, cultural diversity (including cultural differences due to race and ethnicity) and age diversity (See Kling, Hyde, Showers and Buswell, 1999; Konrad, Ritchie, Lieb and Corrigall, 2000; Roberso n and Block, 2001)†. According to Ongari and Argolla (2007) â€Å"Workforce diversity is a complex phenomenon to manage in an organization. The management of workforce diversity as a tool to increase organizational effectiveness cannot be underscored, especially with current changes sweeping across the globe. It is argued that organizations that value diversity will definitely cultivate success and have a future in this dynamic global labour market (Jain and Verma, 1996). Workforce diversity management has become an important issue for both governments and private organizations. Its importance has mainly been brought about by the free movement of labour due to globalization and the fight for human rights by certain minority groups who feel excluded from the employment sector. The workforce diversity emerged mainly to further the availability of equal opportunities in the work place. This equal opportunity philosophy is aimed at ensuring that organizational make the most out of the difference from a dive rse workforce rather than losing talent which might assist the organization to be more efficient and effective. The increased mobility and interaction of people from diverse backgrounds as a result of improved economic and political systems and the recognition of human rights by all nations has put most organizations under pressure to embrace diversity at the work place. Diversity brings with it the heterogeneity that needs to be nurtured, cultivated and appreciated as means of increasing organizational effectiveness†. A more diverse workforce according to Thomas and Ely (1996) will increase organizational effectiveness. â€Å"It would lift morale, bring greater access to new segments of the market place and enhance productivity. Yet if this is true, what then are the positive impacts of diversity? Numerous and varied initiatives to increase diversity in corporate organizations have been under way for over a decade† (Sonnenschein, 1992:49). â€Å"Rarely, however, have those efforts spurred organizational effectiveness, Instead, many attempts to increase diversity in the workplace have backfired, sometimes even heightening and hindering a company’s performance† (Tsui and Gutek, 1999). As is commonly ascribed, Riodan (2000) asserts most people assume that workforce â€Å"diversity is about increasing racial, national, gender or class representation in other words, recruiting and retaining most people from traditionally underrepresented identity groups†. Taking this commonly held supposition as a starting point, Thomas and Ely (1996) set out to investigate the link between diversity and organizational effectiveness and they found that â€Å"thinking of diversity simply in terms of identifying group representations inhibited effectiveness†. They also found that organizations usually follow â€Å"two paths in managing diversity, In the name of empathy and fairness, the organizations encourage women and people of colour to blend in or they set them apart in jobs that relate specifically to their backgrounds, assigning them, for example to areas that require them to interface with clients and customers of the same identity group†. In this kind of c ase, companies are operating on the assumption that the main virtue identity groups have to offer is knowledge of their own people. â€Å"This assumption is limited and detrimental to diversity efforts† â€Å"(See Elsass Graves, 1997; Finkelstein Hambrick, 1996; Jackson, May and Whitney, 1995; Milliken Martins, 1996; Reskin, McBrier Kmec, 1999; Shaw Barrett Power, 1998)† A recent meta-analysis of the effects of task related (e.g. tenure) and non task related (e.g. ethnic and gender) diversity, by Weber Donahue (2001) â€Å"revealed no dependable effects on organizational effectiveness, performance or cohesiveness†. Williams and O’Reilly (1998) assert that â€Å"diversity goes beyond increasing the number of different identity groups’ affiliations† in a company but that diversity should be seen and â€Å"understood as the varied perspectives and approaches to work that members of different identity groups bring†. Another argument is by Cummings (2004) which says that â€Å"effective work groups engage in external knowledge sharing- the exchange of information, know-how and feedback with customers, organizational experts and others outside the group. This paper argues that the value of external knowledge sharing increases when work groups are structurally diverse†. â€Å"A structurally diverse work group is one in which the members, by virtue of their different organizational affiliations, roles or positions, can expose the group to unique sources of knowledge. It is hypothesized that if members of structurally diverse work groups engage in external knowledge sharing, their performance will improve because of this active exchange of knowledge through unique external sources†. Cummings (2004) also assert that â€Å"scholars examining diversity in work groups have primarily focused on the consequences of demographic diversity (e.g. member differences in sex, age, or tenure) for processes such as communication, conflict, or social integration† ( See also Jehn et al, 1999, Pelled et al, 1999 and O’Reilly et al, 1989). â€Å"The consistently negative effects of demographic diversity on group processes are likely the result of heightened member emphasis on social categories rather than project relevant information. Demographic diversity should not increase the value of intra-group knowledge sharing or external knowledge sharing unless it exposes members to unique sources of knowledge related to the work† (for a review see Williams and O’Reilly. 1998). Relatively, â€Å"little attention has been given to member differences in organizational affiliations, roles or positions. With the rise in labour costs, global expansion and corporate mergers, workgroups are often used as a means for connecting members who are dispersed across different geographic locations, who represent different functions and report to different managers or who work in different business units â€Å" (DeSanctis and Monge, 1999; Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1999; Maznevski and Chudoba, 2000). This variation in features of the group structure is introduced here as â€Å"structural diversity because of its potential to expose members to different sources of task information, know-how and feedback. Four types of structural diversity in work groups† are mentioned below as: â€Å"Geographic locations† (See Van den Bulte Moenaert, 1998), â€Å"Functional assignments† (See Bunderson Sutcliffe, 2002), â€Å"Reporting managers† (e.g. Burns, 1989) and in â€Å"Business units† (See Hansen, 2002) Another research done by Siciliano (1996) on 240 YMCA organizations, found no significant relationship between diversity and organizational effectiveness. Middleton (1987) also asserted that â€Å"diversity in any form has no impact on the operating efficiencies of an organization and diversity does not appear to influence one way or another, an organization’s tendency to perform its control function. Merits of Managing Workforce Diversity â€Å"Managing diversity can create a competitive advantage. Potential benefits of diversity include better decision making, higher creativity and innovation, greater success in marketing to foreign and domestic ethnic minority communities and a better distribution of economic opportunity† (Cox, 1991; Cox Blake, 1991). According to one study (Watson et al, 1993) â€Å"culturally diverse groups relative to homogenous groups are more effective both in the interaction process and job performance; these benefits occur after a diverse group has been put together for a period of time†. Mueller (1998) states that â€Å"as all the segments of society have a stake in the development and prosperity of society as a whole, creating and managing a diverse workforce should be seen as a social and moral imperative†. â€Å"As globalisation is increasing, diversity will help organizations to enter the international arena† (Cascio, 1998). â€Å"Diversity enhances creativi ty and innovation (Adler, 1997; Jackson et al, 1992) and produces competitive advantages (Coleman, 2002; Jackson et al, 1992)†. â€Å"Diversity teams make it possible to enhance flexibility (Fleury, 1999) and rapid response and adaptation to change (Adler, 1997’ Jackson et al, 1992)†. Organizational Challenges â€Å"Companies can succeed at diversity if the initiative to create, manage and value the diverse workforce has the full support of the top management† (Hayes, 1999; Jackson et al, 1992). Fiske, 1993 states that â€Å"for increased effectiveness and adaptation of the diversity discourse, companies have to start thinking about diversity more holistically- â€Å"as providing fresh and meaningful approaches to work and stop assuming that diversity relates simply to how a person looks or where† they are from, only then would companies reap diversity’s full rewards† and â€Å"Organizations with a diverse workforce can provide superior services because they can better understand customers’ needs (Weitling Palma-Rivas, 2000). Hiring women, minorities, disabled, etc will help organizations to tap into these niche markets (Mueller, 1998) and diversified market segments† (Fleury, 1999). Jackson et al (1995) state that â€Å"the business economy has received much recent attention, with trade barriers are removed and competition intensifies, many companies are beginning to expand their operations in order to take advantage of foreign labour and consumer markets. For smaller companies, foreign activities may be limited to a single joint venture or to offshore production or distribution systems that involve one or two other countries. For larger corporations, foreign offices may be in over one hundred different countries (See Fulkerson Schuler, 1992). The presence of international affiliations, although not inevitable, is likely to lead eventually to the formation of teams of people with diverse cultural backgrounds, including management teams, design teams, operation teams and marketing teams (Adler Ghadar, 1991; Kanter, 1991; Von Glinow Mohrman, 1990) of which engage in decision making activities† â€Å"Theories and techniques of diversity management have been developed and enthusiastically supported by a growing number of chief executives, training specialists, diversity consultants and academics† (Saji, 2004)). Diversity can improve organizational effectiveness. â€Å"Organizations that develop experience in and reputations for managing diversity will likely attract the best personnel (Carrel et al, 2000). â€Å"Diversity requires a type of organizational culture in which each employee can pursue his or her career aspirations without being intimidated by gender, race, nationality, religion or other factors that are irrelevant to performance† (Bryan. 1999). Managing diversity means â€Å"enabling the diverse workforce to perform its full potential in an equitable work environment, where no one group has an advantage or disadvantage† (Torres Bruxelles, 1992). â€Å"Diversity in the workplace can be a competitive advantage because differing viewpoints can facilitate unique and creative approaches to problem-solving, thereby increasing creativity and innovation, which in turn leads to better organizational performance† (Allen et al, 2004). â€Å"For example, in Botswana, the society is becoming multicultural due to the increasing migrant population and their descendants. For organizations, this means that their market share, efficiency. â€Å"Human capital, international competitiveness and level of innovation will depend on their ability to effectively manage a diverse workforce both within and across organizational boundaries† (Barker Hartel, 2004; Dass Parker, 1996; Kandola et al, 1995; Strauss Mang, 1999)† Conclusions Jackson (2003) â€Å"In today’s business environment, work teams are becoming more common and more diverse, intensifying the importance of understanding the dynamics of work- team diversity. Of particular importance, is diversity within decision making teams. Organizations are rapidly restructuring to take advantage of the potential benefits of diverse decision making teams are worth the risk (or can be successfully avoided). Many of the specific assets and liabilities of work teams arise directly out of diversity†. Despite various intensive efforts to measure diversity and predict its outcomes, Jackson (2003) asserts â€Å"many literature offer few conclusive findings about the effects of diversity in the workplace. Lack of a common paradigm will make it difficult to accumulate comparable findings over time, while agreement around some issues could accelerate our ability to learn from previous accumulated evidence. One useful element that could be suggested could be a common paradigm; it would be for researchers to agree to a common theme or definition of diversity which would in turn lead to less confusion about this concept† (See also Carroll Harrison, 1998; Bedeian Mossholder, 2000). Jackson (2003) affirms that â€Å"Pettigrew (1998) used a very different approach to developing a blueprint for enabling organizational effectiveness. Based on a comprehensive review of a large body of research conducted in a variety of settings, Pettigrew identified the conditions needed to reduce intergroup bias and its negative consequence and described several processes that could be engaged to create these conditions. To the extent an origination’s diversity initiatives support these processes, they would encourage the development of positive intergroup relations, employee commitment, improved productivity and increased organizational effectiveness (See also Gaertner et al, 2000) and they are: Learning about the other group(s) was one key process identified by Pettigrew, Inaccurate stereotypes resist change for a variety of reasons but inaccurate stereotypes can be modified if people receive sufficient disconfirming evidence. Such learning is often the objective of diversity awareness training. Behavioural Change is the second key process that is needed to promote positive intergroup relations. Engaging repeatedly in positive behaviour with members of a work team can lead to long term attitudinal change towards members. Providing training in the behavioural competencies needed to work effectively in organizations characterized by diversity is one way to encourage people to engage in positive behaviour towards work group members Creating positive emotions associated with the work group is the third key process. For example, mentoring programs may encourage the development of intergroup friendships. The value of personal friendships may help explain the apparent success of informal mentoring programs†. In conclusion, it seems likely that active diversity management will be required in order for organizations to comprehend the potential benefits locked up within their diverse work forces and as such organizations must put in place strategies to enhance workforce diversity. â€Å"Research based principles for achieving these benefits and minimising potential losses have been offered. Some organizations are undoubtedly experimenting with practises that are consistent with these principles† Jackson et al (1995). By the end of this decade, perhaps another review of diversity will yield useable suggestions for how to create a sustainable and effective organizational condition called for by Pettigrew’s analysis. References Allen, R.S., Dawson, G., Wheatley, K and White, C.S. (2008) â€Å"Perceived Diversity and Organizational Performance† Employee Relations, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 20-33. 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