General Motors, A Multi Billion Industrial Organization

Introduction General Motors is one of the world’s largest automobile company, a multi-billion industrial organization. Created by William Durant in September 1908. The company is one of the large enterprises in the United States that is first in the implementation of joint-stock and expert group management. But all companies run into barricades of problems in their time, especially for huge organizations. And one of the problems for General Motors was about their Corporate Culture. This culture crisis led to at least 13 deaths which came from a 325-page independent investigator report (Volukas report). The company received a lot of flak in during this time thus forcing them to make huge changes (as per GM CEO Mary Barra). In this report, we will discuss what a corporate culture is and how important it is to any company. We will outline what the role of Human Resources is in rebuilding the GM culture and what positions of the company we will address first. 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Fundamentals of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Free-Samples

Question: Create a Proposal for your expected Business Idea and Convert it into a viable Business Opportunity. Answer: Introduction The Banks of Abu Dhabi are identified as one of the technically sound organizations. The working and safety structure is suitable to the customers as well as employees working in the organization. But, by observing issues related to the cyber-attack and cyber security, new system has been planned to be introduced in the banks which is identified as the Biometric system. The biometric system is considered as the new and specific innovation for the market in simple form. The safety of accounts and banking system is considered on the highest priority. The business proposal shown below will be helpful in covering the basic business topics related to the business. Business Vision/ Mission The business vision is to provide the most specific approach related to the Biometric system in all the organizations and banks. The invasion of the biometric system will help in bringing change in the security system associated to the organization. Apart from this, the secondary vision is the installation of maximum biometric voice recognition machines in the major banks of the Abu Dhabi The mission of introducing biometric systems is to secure all accounts from the cyber-attacks and cyber crimes. By introducing the concept of biometric systems, issues related to the cyber crime can be solved very soon. Other than this, there are various primary objectives too, which may aid in providing assistance for the improvement as well. The primary mission of the organization is to manage uncertainty and to develop an environment suitable for the improvement of an organization as well. Design Thinking The biometric system in technical term is also considered as the electronic sensor machine, which helps in taking thumb printing, retina testing and now voice aspects are also identified on a wide level. The biometric system which is to be introduced in the bank of Abu Dhabi assists in identifying the quality of voice in all the possible sense. The design thinking of this system is totally based on the electronic approach connected to the organization (Sadler Leifer, 2014). The prototyping and identification of the design sensor can be identified by design thinkers to elaborate approach in the broadened form. The structure of the biometric system should be designed in such a manner, so that the customers can manage the security system in a definite manner. The complexity and management of the design thinking will be helpful in defining the major perspectives related to the organization. To identify complexity ration and to consider the actual working concept of a biometric system, the different strategies should also be planned. By this, the recognition of actual person can be done. Apart from this, the biometric system helps in defining the major developmental and growth aspects connected with the organization (Sambidge, 2014). Business objectives Before initiating the basic ideas related to the business, it is essential to introduce business objectives. The primary purpose of the business objectives is to manage aspects related to the business and make it more stable and organized in reference to the organization. The Biometric voice recognition system in contrast to the organizational aspects is identified at a definite level. For introducing entrepreneurial practices, the definite range of objectives should be managed on a large scale as well. The first objective of the business is to introduce a secure system in the organization. This secure system can be managed with the help of definite aspects linked to the organization. In contrast to the banking system, information like account details, personal information, asset information and information related to the credit and debit card is important. To manage all these perspectives, it is essential to look forward to the organized approach as well. The second objective related to innovation is to provide technical support to the existing organization. The biometric system is helpful in recognizing various activities on a wide level. Apart from this, the frequency checking of the voice, matching related to the quality of voice, most appropriate identification related to the voice and other aspects are identified with the help of biometric system. So, improving the technical aspects is considered as one of the most specific method to achieve the target in a definite direction. The reduction in the overall amount of the transactions related to the bank is also considered as an objective related to the organization. The biometric system will be helpful in reducing the cost of the call. The recognition on a consumer level and identification of voice in a short span of time will help in providing specific assistance in a definite manner (Dail, 2017). The customer satisfaction is the primary objective related to the biometric system. The improvement in the high reliability rate and providing satisfaction in existing aspects is identified as one of the major aspect, which may help in providing a sufficient improvement on a wide level. To meet this objective, the biometric system also plans a specific approach in the proper manner. The most important business objective is to maximize the sale of the product. By this maximization of product, demand will increase on the highest level. This increment in the demand of biometric system will help in promoting business on a definite level. There are various commercialize, public and private sector banks which are coming up with different issues on the organization level. Solving these issues on specific level is also considered as the primary target of the biometric system. Apart from this, there are various objectives which should be pursued with the definite target in a correct direction. Business Significance The significance of the business is that it may help in providing specific assistance in a proper direction. The amount which is utilized for the business is considered very high in amount. At the start, banks need to pay a lot of amount for installing the biometric system and to maintain its database. But, once the system will be introduced in the market, it will help in providing specific assistance in the correct direction as well. Apart from providing assistance for the organization, the business is also successful in providing the most developed aspects associated with the organization. Before introducing biometric system, it is essential to calculate technical as well as the installation charges related to the software. The frequency and modulation of the voice will be checked. For checking this, it is essential to manage biometric systems in the more advanced and precise manner. The precise working strategy will take a lot of time, but simultaneously it may help in providing assistance in the correct direction. The level of security may also be managed in a wide form (Warisse Reinsch, 2007). The business significance will simultaneously create positive impact on the growth of the business. The most specific business will be helpful in providing specific assistance. Apart from this, the biometric system will be helpful in providing the most stable security system in the definite manner. The security system may also aid in strengthening the existing system and customer satisfaction as well. Service and its innovation The service which is identified for the specific clarification is related to the biometric system. The biometric system is recognized with specific aspects and procedures. For this business type, the biometric system is successful in providing special method for identification and recognition as well. The definite set of services will be providing on a wide angle and the expansion of biometric system is worth in every sense Business market location To set up the new business, the location which is identified is the major banks of the Abu Dhabi. The banks and commercial places related to the transactions are facing various issues related to the fraudulent, hacking and many others. For these fraudulent and unidentified issues, the biometric system is considered as the boon. To manage aspects related to the organization, variations in the biometric system are identified on a large scale. The banks are selected for introducing new concept related to the biometric system, because the chances of frauds and crime are very high in these areas. Apart from this, the organization is also recommending various other subsidiary organizations which can use specific information related to the biometric system as well. After introducing the concept on the banking level, the biometric system can be introduced on transaction and ATM level too. The ATM is located worldwide. To introduce the concept of ATM, the specific biometric system can be installed. The account holders can manage it by providing their specific voice identification aspects. By this, it could become possible to manage the elaboration of the biometric system easily. Entrepreneurial Eco-system The entrepreneurial ecosystem helps in providing opportunities to the young leaders and entrepreneurs to introduce the concept of biometric system on a wide level. The introduction of the biometric system is considered as the best part of innovation in which the maximum number of fraud cases can be solved in a unique manner. Through this environment, it could become possible to manage the aspects related to the economic process. The increments in share value and market expansion of the product are identified as some of the aspects which can be possible by the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The generation of the maximum amount can be planned by installing maximum numbers of biometric system in the banks and ATM. The introduction of new techniques and innovative aspects will be helpful in providing the specific assistance as well (Stam Spigel, 2016). This ecosystem may also enhance the working quality of biometric systems. By this, it becomes possible to gain the maximum customer satisfaction as well. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is identified as the root cause for the development and most specific business ideas as well. The entrepreneurial ecosystem also approaches for the well-organized business data and communication as well. The innovation of biometric system may also assist in introducing the new concept of voice recognition technology (Mason Brown, 2014). Innovative Clusters Innovative cluster in general terms will be helpful in providing assistance to the new techniques and innovation which are introduced in the organization. In contrast to the biometric system, it can become easier to introduce the concept in the banking sector. The innovative cluster comprises of different team member who belongs to different fields. This will be helpful in providing assistance for the long lasting activities. The team members comprise of the technical team, installation team, communication team, public interaction team, database management team and other teams which may help in providing specific assistance for the improvement (College, 2017). The innovation cluster will be helpful in providing a specific set of support to the banking system. The continuous changes and rearrangement of the team members will be observed on a large scale. It will also help in introducing the changing concept related to the organization. So, it is identified that the involvement of the innovative cluster will be helpful in introducing a specific set of changes in an organized way (katz Muro, 2010). Expected business value Social importance The expected business value and social importance which is identified is quite important for generating feedback for installing new machines in the banks. The business values which are expected after introducing the concept of biometric are very high. Apart from Abu Dhabi Commercial banking system, other banks related to the area are also using the concept of biometric systems (Espinoza Claxton, 2012). The rate of involvement to the biometric system has also risen with a rapid speed. The innovative business opportunities are open for both the entrepreneurs as well as the business purpose. The different type of returns which can be expected from this biometric machine are mentioned below: High level of customers satisfaction. Management of the new opportunities in a well-defined manner. Introduction of new concept in the major banking sector of the country. Increment in the trade values and perspectives. Other major aspects are also planned in an organized manner (Alavi, 2010). The social importance of this new innovation will be helpful in generating awareness among common people. With the help of biometric systems, common people can able to secure their personal rights as well as, the transactional aspects are also secured on a large level. The organization can also able to secure their data. The biometric system also helps in managing consistency and integrity of the available data. Apart from all these aspects, improvement in the existing procedure of the transaction and time saving may also being identified as well. The biometric system will be helpful in reducing the time as well as the efficiency of the customers. They operate this system from any place in the world. This will be helpful in socially managing the perspectives (Stterlin, Brunner, Siegrist, 2013 Conclusion The above scenario is successful in implementing the most specific scenario related to the organization. With the help of suitable business plan, chances of biometric system may increase on a wide level. The biometric system may be helpful in providing suitable assistance for the voice recognition method. The strategic approach and improvement aspects are also well managed in contrast to the biometric system. After preparing this business plan, it could become possible to introduce new plans and concepts in the banking sector of Abu Dhabi. But, due to the technical perspectives, there are still some issues which are unsolved yet. To manage these issues and to manage the specific worth of the Biometric system, it is essential to eradicate these issues on an initial level. The consultation with the other organization regarding biometric system, identification of the cyber-attack malware and other aspects should be clearly identified on the wide level. It may also be suggested that the awareness among the people can also be raised by public message and social media. To maximize the usage of these aspects, suitable plans for attention should be focused. These efforts are flawless and help in introducing the new concept of business in the organization as well References Alavi, K. (2010). Social skills and social values training for future k?workers. Journal of European Industrial Training, 34(3), 226-258. Retrieved from https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/03090591011031737 College, T. P. (2017). Innovation Clusters. Retrieved from https://developingchild.harvard.edu/innovation-application/key-concepts/innovation-clusters/ Dail, V. (2017). Top 5 Advantages Of Voice Recognition Security Systems! Retrieved from https://www.biometric-security-devices.com/advantages-of-voice-recognition.html Espinoza, M., Claxton, K. (2012, June). CO1 Individual Decisions and Social Value: A Conceptual Framework to Explore Alternative Decision Making Approaches and the Value of Heterogeneity in the Era of Individualized Care. Retrieved from https://www.valueinhealthjournal.com/article/S1098-3015(12)00077-0/abstract katz, B., Muro, M. (2010, September 21). The New Cluster Moment: How Regional Innovation Clusters Can Foster the Next Economy. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-new-cluster-moment-how-regional-innovation-clusters-can-foster-the-next-economy/ Mason, C., Brown, R. (2014). Entrepreneurial ecosystems and growth oriented entrepreneurship. OECD. Sadler, J., Leifer, L. (2014, May 17). TeamSense: Prototyping Modular Electronics Sensor Systems for Team Biometrics. pp. 87-100. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-06823-7_7#page-1 Sambidge, A. (2014, October 19). Abu Dhabi bank says to boost security with voice biometrics. Retrieved from https://www.arabianbusiness.com/abu-dhabi-bank-says-boost-security-with-voice-biometrics-568433.html Stam, E., Spigel, B. (2016). Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. Retrieved from https://www.uu.nl/en/file/55729/download?token=dzRMYt-t Stterlin, B., Brunner, T., Siegrist, M. (2013, August). Impact of social value orientation on energy conservation in different behavioral domains. Journal of applied social psycology, 43(8), 17251735. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jasp.12128/abstract Warisse, J., Reinsch, N. (2007). The Business Communicator as Presence Allocator: Multicommunicating, Equivocality, and Status at Work. Journal of Business Communication, 44(36), 1-26. Retrieved from https://www18.georgetown.edu/data/people/reinschl/publication-20965.pdf

All Quiet On The Western Front Report On Historical Fiction Essays

All Quiet On The Western Front Report On Historical Fiction Name of Book: All Quiet on the Western Front Author: Erich Maria Remarque Publisher: Ballantine Books Date you started book:____________ Date you completed book:__________ 1. In what period of history did the story take place? The story told in All Quiet on the Western Front occurs during the two years just before the Armistice ended World War I in November 1918. 2. Who was the hero in the book? Paul Baumer 3. Name One Problem that the hero experienced: When Baumer visits his home town he realizes that he can not communicate with the people on the home front because of his military experiences and their limited, or nonexistent, understanding of the war. When he first enters his house, for example, Baumer is overwhelmed at being home. His joy and relief are so great that he cannot speak; he can only weep. When he and his mother greet each other, he realizes immediately that he has nothing to say to her: We say very little and I am thankful that she asks nothing (page 159). But finally she does speak to him and asks, 'Was it very bad out there, Paul?' (page 161). He lies to her to protect her from hearing of the terrible conditions from which he has just returned. He thinks to himself, amazed that she would ask that, and confused as to how he should answer. He does not believe that she would understand or realize what he would say. Even in trying to protect her, by using words that are false, Baumer creates a separation between his mother and himself. Clearly, as Baumer sees it, those whom have not been in the war cannot conceive what its like to be a soldier. On another level, however, Baumer cannot respond to his mother's question: he understands that the experiences he has had are so overwhelming that a civilian language, or any language at all, would be ineffective in describing them. Trying to replicate the experience and horrors of the war via words is impossible, Baumer realizes, and so he lies. . . . 4. List three events in this book that made the story seem real to you: 1) Early in the novel, when Baumer tries to console his dying comrade, Franz, the story seemed quite real. Hundreds of soldiers who fought in wars had to go through seeing their comrades die, and writing home to their comrade's loved ones with the grim news. 2) When Baumer kills the Frenchman he is horrified. He killed the man with his hands, and saw him die, which differs from any other kill he has committed thought this war. When Baumer kills this man he feels himself on a personal level with this fellow human being. He realizes this man had a family, a life, and indeed he is no monster, just another person stuck in the war. He apologizes to the body, promises to it that he will write to the man's family and take his place in the world. Since the man is a printer, Baumer will become a printer. 3) The way this book is written, through the eyes of one man, thats what makes it so different than a simple recollection of history. Baumer's mind is slowly being perverted by his experiences in the war. Each friend he loses, each attack that is made on his platoon, to every poor meal he is given effects him. He sees himself as this young man whom had a great unforeseen future ahead of him, and years of school and childhood behind him, but the war had taken that all away from him. 5. In what Country did the story take place? This book took place in Europe. Since Baumer is in the German Army it would be my guess that the story took place on German battlegrounds. 6. What research did the author have to do before writing this book? The author, Erich Maria Remarque, was in combat during World War One. He was wounded five times. I think he gathered enough research and understanding for the characters from his own experiences during the war. 7. Write a definition for historical fiction: Historical fiction on s story that isn't true, but based

Tnb-Financial Analysis Essay Example

Tnb Tnb-Financial Analysis Paper Tnb-Financial Analysis Paper INTRODUCTION OF CORPORATION PROFILE3 TENAGA NASIONAL BERHAD FINANCIAL ANALYSIS 1998-2007 i)PROFITABILITY RATIOS AND SALES REVENUE5 ii)LEVERAGE MANAGEMENT 9 iii)EARNINGS PER SHARE11 iv)LIQUIDITY RATIOS12 v) FIXED ASSET TURNOVER15 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY17 REFERENCE18 APPENDIX 1: RAW DATA APPENDIX 2: ANNUAL REPORT 1998-2007 INTRODUCTION OF CORPORATION PROFILE Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) is the largest utility company in Malaysia. It is also the largest power company in Southest Asia with RM65 billion worth of assets serving over six million customers throughout Peninsular Malaysia and the eastern state of Sabah. Its core activities are generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. TNB is the only Malaysian energy company to rank among the top 50 energy companies in Asia in 2006 (based on the Platts’s survey of the top 250 Global Energy Companies) while internationally it is ranked as 168th. TNB was formed in 1990 by the Electricity Supply Successor Company Act 1990, as the successor of the National Electricity Board of the States of Malaya (Lembaga Letrik Negara Tanah Melayu). It was listed on the Bursa Saham Securities Berhad in the year 1990. TNB Group currently has a complete power supply system generating capacity of about 11,200 MW. In Peninsular Malaysia, TNB contributes to 55 percent of the total industry capacity through six thermal stations and three major hydroelectric schemes. It also manages the transmission network i. e. National Grid which links TNB power stations and IPPs to the distribution network. The National Grid is linked via 132kV HVAC and 300 kV HVDC interconnection to Thailand and 230kV cables to Singapore. TNB’s distribution network is managed through a comprehensive distribution system; customer service centres and calls management centres. Through its subsidiaries, TNB is also involves in the manufacturing of transformer, high voltage switchgears and cables, provision of professional consultancy services, architectural, civil and electrical engineering works and services, repair and maintenance, research and development and project management services. TNB also offers higher education through its university – University Tenaga Malaysia (Uniten). The Group mission is â€Å"We Are Committed to Excellence in Our Products and Services† FINANCIAL ANALYSIS (1998 – 2007) The purpose of this chapter will cover the analysis of financial statement from year 1998 to 2007 of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to help evaluate the operating performance and financial positions. Operating performance analysis focuses on how well the organization is matching revenues and expenses or expenditures while financial position analysis focuses on how well positioned the organization is to pay its bills. The Groups principal activities are generating, transmitting, distributing, operating and selling electricity . Other activities include repairing, testing and maintaining power plants, providing engineering, procurement and construction services for power plants related products, assembling and manufacturing high voltage switchgears, coal mining and trading . Operations are carried out in Malaysia, Mauritius, Pakistan, India and Indonesia. Profitability Ratio And Sales Revenue Profitability ratio has increased tremendously from a negative 28% in 1998 to a positive 18% in 2007. This shows how well TNB is performing by analyzing profit earned relative to sales, total assets and net worth. The Group recorded a 14. per cent growth in revenue to RM23,320. 4 million in FY2007 from RM20,384. 2 million in FY2006 and 110 per cent growth in revenue from RM11,075. 6 million in FY1998. This can be seen in a staggered rise and was driven by various factors such as the implementation of the new tariff structure which took effect in the middle of Y2006, foreign exchange translation gains and a 5. 3 per cent increase in electricity demand. This is also reflected by higher electricity sales which increased by RM2. 7 billion or 13. 6% and cost savings. EBITDA increased to 37. 6 per cent compared to 35. per cent last year while net profit increased by 90. 9 per cent from RM2,126. 9 million (Y2006) to RM4,061. 1 (Y2007) million which is almost double the amount; and also a huge increase from a loss of RM3,093. 9 in Y1998. TABLE 1:TNB PROFITABILITY RATIOS 1998 2007 Ratio/Year1998199920002001200220032004200520062007 NET PROFIT MARGIN-0. 280. 070. 100. 150. 060. 060. 050. 070. 100. 17 ROA-0. 070. 020. 030. 040. 020. 020. 010. 020. 030. 06 ROE-0. 240. 060. 090. 130. 050. 070. 050. 080. 110. 17 TABLE 2: TNB CHANGES IN SALES REVENUE 1998 – 2007 RM/Year1998199920002001200220032004200520062007 Sales Revenue (RM million)11075. 6011716. 1013220. 00 13,951. 80 15375. 1016457. 8017712. 1018326. 4019707. 4022384. 00 FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4 Leverage Management Apart from registering its highest profit ever, the Group has for the past reduced its loan from RM27. 1 billion in Y2006 to RM23. 9 billion in Y2007. For the past 3 years, a major restructuring of loan has been done. As we can see of RM32. 4 billion in Y2004 to RM23. 9 billion in Y2007, reflecting a RM8. 5 billion or 26. 2 per cent reduction. During the same period, TNB has managed to collect RM553 million from major delinquent debtors and also eduction in theft. Due to the various cost management initiatives undertaken by the Management, the Company has realised around RM2. 4 billion in terms of value creation since 2004. TNB also saw increasing foreign investors’ interest in its shares, when foreign shareholding reached 28. 4 per cent in May 2007; it’s highest since the Company’s privati sation. Given the continued strong financial outcomes, the Company is poised to undertake appropriate growth opportunities within its core business areas. TABLE 5: TNB LEVERAGE MANAGEMENT RATIO 1998 2007 Ratio/Year1998199920002001200220032004200520062007 DEBT RATIO0. 70. 70. 70. 70. 70. 70. 70. 70. 70. 6 DEBT-TO-EQUITY2. 22. 41. 91. 72. 12. 22. 21. 861. 40. 78 FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6 Earnings Per Share During the year 2007, the Board announced a dividend policy for the purpose of providing stable and sustainable dividends to shareholders while maintaining an efficient capital structure and ensuring sufficient funding for future growth. Under this policy, TNB will distribute 40-60 per cent of the Company’s annual free cash flow as dividends. As such, the Board of Directors is recommending a final gross dividend of 16. sen per ordinary share less income tax of 26 per cent to shareholders of the Company. Together with the interim dividend of RM632 million, the total dividend declared for this Financial Year amounts to an estimated RM1,154. 5 million. From track record Y1998 to Y2007, Y2007 has the highest payout. This change of a negative EPS of 99. 8 sen in Y1998 to a turnaround posit ive 94. 9sen in Y2007 (an 81% increase compare to Y2006 of 52. 5sen). TABLE 6 : CHANGES IN EPS 1998 2007 Ratio/Year1998199920002001200220032004200520062007 EPS-99. 824. 942. 967. 830. 734. 126. 132. 052. 594. 9 FIGURE 7 Liquidity Ratio The current ratio can give a sense of the efficiency of a companys operating cycle or its ability to turn its product into cash. It measures a companys ability to pay short-term obligations. Liquidity ratios measure the short-term ability of the entity to pay its maturing obligations and to meet unexpected needs for cash. As per the above calculation, current ratio and quick ration for TNB decrease from year 1998 to 2000 but increase from 2000 to 2007. The increase in both current and quick ratios from 2000 to 2007 indicates improvement in liquidity (Current ratio from 0. 5 times in 2000 increased to 1. times in 2007; quick ration from 0. 4 times in 2000 to 1. 2 in 2007). The current ratio means for every dollar of current liabilities, in year 2007, TNB has $1. 50 of current assets compare to 1998 which has only $0. 80. While for quick ratio, TNB performed quite well too. Ratio increased from year 2000 to 2007. The peak was in year 2004 with the quick ratio of 1. 4. The company is â €˜cash rich’ and able to pay off short-term obligations without relying on the sale of inventories. TABLE 4: TNB LIQUIDITY RATIO 1998 2007 Ratio/Year1998199920002001200220032004200520062007 CURRENT RATIO0. 0. 70. 50. 70. 80. 91. 71. 21. 41. 5 QUICK RATIO0. 60. 50. 40. 60. 60. 51. 411. 11. 2 FIGURE 8 FIGURE9 Fixed Assets Turnover Assets management ratios measure how effectively TNB is managing its assets. Fixed assets turnover ratio for the company is increasing from the year 1999 to 2007, from 0. 27 to 0. 41, 51% improvement over 9 years of business operation. Over the 9 years TNB’s total assets turnover ratio increased from 0. 25 times in 1999 to 0. 34 times in 2007. This indicates that the company is generating sufficient volume of business given its total assets investment. Sales increased, some assets were sold, or a combination of these steps had been taken. TABLE 3: TNB ASSET MANAGEMENT RATIOS 1998 – 2007 Ratio/Year1998199920002001200220032004200520062007 FIXED-ASSET TURNOVER0. 280. 270. 290. 290. 300. 320. 330. 350. 370. 41 TOTAL ASSET TURNOVER0. 260. 250. 260. 260. 270. 270. 280. 300. 310. 34 FIGURE 10 FIGURE 11 Executive Summary In summary, it can be seen that Tenaga Nasional Berhad has increased its performance quite steadily for the past ten years. It has managed to improve its performance from losses to steady growth of earnings and profit. It has done by steadily increasing its tariff, earnings from foreign exchange translation gains and increase in electricity demand. Tenaga Nasional Berhad are also able to manage its debt by decreasing it quite considerably. The company managed to collect its debt from major delinquent debtors and also reduction in theft. Though its total revenue increases, there is large escalation in total operating cost. This in turns has resulted into slight decrease of its profit margin. It has shift its operation towards fuel- fix in order to reduce the cost of coal usage and also maximizing its gas and hydro usage from its multi-fuel plants. The rising coal price has increase the total fuel cost. However its foreign exchange gain and continued effort in cost management has increased its pre tax profit. TNB would need to resort to the capital market to finance its capital expenditure requirements due to increases in operating cost and requirement to enhance its electricity supply reliability. TNB also has plans to further increase its tariff in 2008 due to the increasing cost i. e. the increase in the selling price of independent power plant (IPP) where it purchases some of its energy requirement This has lead to a lot of debate in the government and also its consumer. There are pressures for TNB to review its current contract with the various IPP to ensure that TNB will be able to fully benefit and earn a profit from its agreement with them. It remains to be seen if TNB will do so despite pressure from its consumer to not increase the tariff. In conclusion, TNB should be able to sustain its current growth and further increase if profit. However TNB must be mindful of its operational cost in order for it to sustain its profit. REFERENCE ?Tenaga Nasional Berhad Annual Reports 1999-2007 ?www. tnb. com. my ?http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Tenaga_Nasional

How the media communications impacted public perception on marijuana Research Paper

How the media communications impacted public perception on marijuana - Research Paper Example Marijuana in most nations around the world is categorized as an illegal drug and its use is outlawed. However, there are alternative uses of marijuana ranging from the production of animal feeds, plastic products among other use. In the U.S.A, the use of marijuana has been prohibited to both the living and those who are dying. The most tragic of the prohibition of its use has been the denial of medicinal cannabis to millions of patients who could benefit from its therapeutic use. The use of Marijuana for medical purposes has numerous examples that cannabis is invaluable in the treatment of a wide range of diseases. It has numerous clinical applications as well. The most important of these is perhaps being used as a pain reliever especially pain suffered because of nerve damage otherwise known as neuropathic pain. It is also known to deal with movement disorders, glaucoma and nausea. Apart from medical use, there are a number of reasons given for the legalization of marijuana. One of them is that marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol or cigarettes, which are legal and widely use in the US already. The other argument is that decriminalization will result in reduced criminal and gang activities that are related to the sale of Marijuana. The process of legalizing marijuana for medicinal use and other purposes has been a long one and the role played by the media cannot be ignored. It served an important role in the education of the masses as to this alternativ e method of treatment.

Insider threat and Physical vulnerability Research Paper

Insider threat and Physical vulnerability - Research Paper Example Physical security of the database The growing technological advancements are posing a threat to the new requirements of the iTrust database. Cloud storage, a method of data storage that allows users to share information online is one of the basis on which the iTrust database is prone to attackers. Cloud computing can be misused to attack the database through dishonest activities. Cloud computing at the database, just like in other systems, deal with privacy and have a rather easy registration system. Although the easy registration system gets geared to make the software user friendly, criminals usually use advanced technologies to access the software. This poses the highest threat to businesses and consumers that use the system (Shaw et al, 2013). There have been cases of use of Botnets to attack a public cloud network and spread viruses. The Zeus Botnet has on several occasions attacked the Amazon cloud. The Zeus Botnet attacked Amazon’s EC2 cloud computing service managing t o install a virus. The Botnet further took control of a cloud platform. The malware remained hidden for a long time while transferring millions of dollars (Shaw et al, 2013).Two ways have been proposed to deal with such malware. The security threat posed by the malware can be addressed through implementing cloud analytics. The threat can also be addressed through employing more personnel to monitor the database. Another threat that comes with cloud computing is the difficulty with which consumers get to understand the security implications associated with usage of software like itrust database. Whereas most consumers would prefer a relatively easy set of application programming interfaces, this seems to deter efforts to safeguard the database from any threats. Ensuring that the database gets adequately safeguarded may call for complex application programming interfaces. Such interfaces are able to detect any unpermitted intrusion into the system and swiftly counter-attack the attemp t (Shaw et al, 2013) The issue of account service and traffic hijacking remains a legitimate threat to most of the iTrust users. Traffic hijacking has a wide range. It may involve spamming or use of stolen user credentials. Considering the sensitivity of the data stored in the iTrust database, hackers can in many ways put to risk the lives of the users. This can be done by just gaining a simple entrance. In a situation where the attack occurs on the urgent care, the attacker can manage to follow up on transactions, edit data stored on the database as well as steal users’ personal information .To curb this, preventive measures must be taken. Such preventive measures may include effecting password policies, use of tracking software and providing internet usage education to all employees (Researchomatic, 2012). The insider threat Insider threat can be defined as any threat that comes from people within the organization and who have the organization’s inside information re garding how the organization stores its information. The insider threat faced at the iTrust database is quite challenging. A lack of separation of duties seems to pose the greatest insider threat at the moment. Separation of duties ensures that an insider with too much power or authority is not able to attack the database using the power or authority that they have (SafeNet, 2013). Example of an incident of an insider threat is when a head of department

Evaluating The Different Changes To Child Protection Social Work Essay

Evaluating The Different Changes To Child Protection Social Work Essay When researching the changes that have taken place in the last decade, it is notable that law, guidance and application to practice are constantly under revision. The aim of this project is to identify and assess the impacts of the recent changes in child protection as well as public opinion and awareness of them. Evaluating changes in child protection is challenging as defining the rights of children has never been particularly straightforward. Once, in Victorian times, they were considered the property of parents who can treat them in whatever manner they like. Fortunately, most people today believe that children should be emotionally safeguarded and should receive protection from government agencies from physical and sexual abuse. In examining how child protection has evolved during the past ten years, this project will also be discussing the facts and misconceptions about class and sexual abuse. Different types of data were used to identify those secondary research section underlines previous studies, findings, evaluation of government and voluntary agencies actions in order to come to a conclusion, whereas in primary research data was collected by using a questionnaire to summarise public opinion and trends about the subject. Feasibility study was conducted to identify any possible diffi culties in completing the project and methods used are evaluated in methodology section. Whilst assessing the changes in policies, the research will give an insight into public attitudes and government legislation regarding child protection which is of interest to students who are hoping to progress onto a Social Work degree course and pursue their future career working with children. For students who are hoping to work with adults, the research might provide base for understanding the problems of paedophilia and an insight into recent Acts of Parliament. This was the reason why the research topic was selected. Secondary sources of information, such as journal articles and government publications, will be selected to identify recent changes in the system. Even though these are widely attainable, the terminology used in selected journals is exclusively directed to professionals who work with children and some additional research will be essential in order to understand the topic and some legal terms. Whilst secondary data will be obtained from books, journals and government publications, the primary data will be obtained from an interview with a child protection professional and questionnaires which will be completed regionally and anonymously by adults. Therefore, time will need to be designated for designing the questionnaire and interview questions. Questions will need to be written so that answers provided will be easy to analyse. However, primary data will not be obtained from children due to the sensitivity of the topic. Basic computer skills, forward planning, determination and patien ce will be necessary in producing the following. Marina Trifunovic Methodology Study: Analysis of the Methods Used to Complete the Project The project is structured according to the requirements of the grade descriptors and it is outlined to meet the standardised criteria. In addition, the methods used in gathering primary and secondary data were suggested and encouraged by the college tutor. The research for the project involved gathering primary and secondary data and its cogency relies on validity of those sources. The information is independently generated using the methods which are briefly evaluated in this section. In terms of secondary data, validity was assured by using a variety of sources, such as books, newspaper articles and web pages which demanded patience and persistence. However, it provided a fundamental base for the project and most significantly, it subsequently led to a greater knowledge of the subject. Application of this knowledge allowed the critical evaluation of the issues relating the child protection. This broad approach to secondary research imposes time limitations and requires excellent understanding of the terminology. In addition, primary data was gathered using the questionnaire and an interview with a child protection officer, employed by the NSPCC in Manchester. The interview with the social worker provided an excellent insight into the issues related to child abuse and poverty. However, the preparation for this was time consuming and difficult due to the limited availability of the interviewee and even though she tried and stay objective, some subjectivity as well as a degree of interpretation might have influenced the findings. Measures were taken to enhance the reliability of the findings generated by questionnaire by using a public sample from various age groups, genders and occupations and similar results enhance validity of the findings. However, the questionnaire was completed regionally and with a relatively small sample (36 people took part) which does not allow generalisation. Unlike interviews, using questionnaires does not require prior arrangements and information can be collected from a large number of people relatively easy. Qualitative data used in the research covers a very broad area of different aspects to child protection. This is gathered from secondary as well as primary sources. Though information is brief comparable to that gathered by quantitative approaches, it poses difficulties when measuring it with reliability. Qualitative data found in secondary research such as in numerous books and journals require intensive reading and analysis in order to determine appropriate sources of information, e.g. finding and recognising the objective data in newspapers articles. Qualitative data is descriptive and this method was used to gather information using an interview. Nevertheless, the qualitative data poses risks in terms of written work as it is easy for a researcher who is still learning about the subject to express it in a descriptive rather than analytical manner. In this project, a degree of critical analysis was maintained by constantly questioning why findings are in a way as they were found. Quantitative data was obtained by counting and coding the information gathered by the questionnaire in primary research. The information was transformed into numerical data and represented by using charts and graphs in the primary research section. This was further used to numerically measure the public opinion of child protection as well as to support the qualitative data and evidence found and analysed in secondary research. However, quantitative data in this project is not an infallible indicator on how people actually feel about child protection. The questions which were left unanswered in a questionnaire might be interpreted as the information which could not be limited to numerical descriptions and due to the sensitivity of the topic, some socially desirable answers are expected. Marina Trifunovic Secondary research: Changes in Child Protection During the 2000s Law and guidance which regulates the child protection is constantly under revision. Nevertheless, the twentieth century featured the shift in attitudes when the family moved on from Victorian times where Children were seen and not heard (Morgan,1985, p.89). Fortunately, most people today believe that children are not property of their parents and that they should be emotionally safeguarded and when necessary receive protection from government agencies from physical and emotional abuse. Therefore, when a report is made, the child is usually taken from the parents and put into care. Many sociologists believe that this is primarily associated with the lower socio-economic classes because poverty is believed to be related with increased chances of instability in the family (NSPCC, 2011). Although that is statistically correct, children in more desirable neighbourhoods may be more vulnerable if there is a general belief that childhood abuse could not possibly happen in these areas as poor children appear to be the easy choice for the sexual predators of the world. In examining how child protection has evolved during the past ten years, also the secondary research section involves analysis of the facts and misconceptions about class and sexual abuse. Child Protection Reforms Every society has an interest in protecting its children, not only because they are the stewards of the future, but because one of the merits which grades the level of development of civilisation is how well a particular culture treats its children. In England, there have been some arguments about reinforcing social values of the English way of parenting on people from foreign cultures. However, the tragic story of Victoria Climbie had influenced politicians to discuss the ways to improve the law in place with regards to child protection in the UK. The Labour government also analysed how the holes in the system could be closed and systematically, the media had played a role in informing the public of what was regarded by the journalists as a blinding incompetence of government agencies (Lonne, 2009). The inquiry into the case discovered that a number of agencies such as the police, NHS, NSPCC and local churches that Victoria attended all noticed the signs of abuse, but had done noth ing to assess the situation. As a result of the blinding incompetence in which way this case was assessed, Parliament passed an amendment to the original 1989 Children Act to the updated 2004 Children Act (The National Archives, 2011). These amendments to the Act gave much greater discretion to child protection agencies and power to react when protecting children and the new principle of every child matters led officials to not dismiss certain cases because of the social or cultural background of the child in question. The Home Secretary appointed a review of safeguarding children in June 2007 and measures were put in place to ensure better communication and cooperation between the agencies and the government agencies are exchanging data regarding sex offenders in England and Wales under the guidance of multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). In a controlled way, information is also made available to various people, such as teachers, employers, landlords and parents. The extent to which information is reviled involves regional variations and is further stimulated by a campaign for sex offenders disclosure scheme, commonly referred to as Sarahs Law. This scheme was piloted in Hampshire, Cleveland, Cambridgeshire and Warwickshire over a one year period in 2008 and it allowed members of the public to attain information from the police about any sex offending convictions of an individual, for example, a family friend or a neighbour. However, the scheme does not mean that information is unr eservedly made public. During the pilot period a total number of 585 enquiries were initiated, 315 of which were preceded further and resulted in a total of only 21 criminal disclosures being made. Also, 43 disclosure applications prompted other safeguarding actions such as referral to social services (Almandras, 2010) which indicates the schemes useful application in practice. The Home Office carried out the research which concluded that criminal justice agencies had benefited from Sarahs Law which resulted in increased intelligence as well as in an improvement in a way which public concerns are handled. This led to an announcement in August 2010 that the scheme would expand to twenty more police force areas and remaining forces were invited to consider the introduction of the scheme by March 2011. However, even though police seniors feel confident that information which is disclosed under the scheme will remain confidential, organisations such as NSPCC have stressed that criminal disclosure might encourage violent attacks. When evaluating this extent of information disclosure, it is important not to forget that it only involves the information about individuals who have been convicted for a sexual offence. This does not eliminate the need for public awareness to safeguard children from yet unknown offenders. Other significant methods to tackle the child abuse include a cultural shift of condemning violence within the home to the same extent as violence outside the home, and some researchers argue that Parliament could pass more amendments in safeguarding children, notably against corporal punishment, such as the case in sixteen European countries, as a part of a revised Children Act in future (Wilson and James, 2007). Nevertheless, designing a strategy to tackle the issues of child protection involved creating a profile of child abuse, for example, assessing which families would be more at risk to abuse children and social workers concluded that a degree of risk is strongly correlated with poverty, social isolation, family breakdown and poor parent-child relationships (Wilson and James, 2007). This has led government and voluntary agencies to focus their work on poorer households where such risks are statistically more possible as the economic factors inevitably create stress that can ac cumulate and result in parents to take out their frustration on their closest family, most notably on their children. Struggling to survive and financial problems, however, are not the primary reason behind the child abuse among middle and higher class families. Studies have found that abuse in the higher social circles are directly related to factors such as the abuse of drug and alcohol, and there is some hesitation to prosecute perpetrators from middle-class and upper-class backgrounds because they would be unable to provide economic support to their family members if they are prosecuted and put in prison. In addition, such an individual would be able to bring more financial resources to fighting the legal charges and it is argued how it would be easier for such a person to obtain personal references from affluent friends and family as well as have an advantage of the access to greater funds for legal help (Faller, 1993). New Labour reforms and Children Act 2004 aim to prevent children from being on repeated reports on the child protection registers (Powell 2002). In practice, this means that children would be much less likely to be removed from one abusive situation and placed in another. The reforms of the government legislations reinforce increased measures for assessment of the prospective foster parents, and more strict evaluation of the biological parents who are hoping to gain back the custody of their children (Powell 2002). Protecting children online Government experts argue that parents, influenced by media, are contributing in creating the paranoid culture and thus are overprotecting their children. The risk-averse approach to raising children has resulted in an increasing number of children who are exploring the world of the internet and particularly social networking sites as they are disallowed to play outside. London School of Economic had carried the comprehensive survey which found that ninety eight percent of children have access to internet (UK Children Go Online, 2006) and another study concluded that nearly all questioned parents (95%) do not recognise the slang that their children use to let other people know that their parents are supervising them (Netlingo, 2011). Nevertheless, the generation gap often leaves parents unable to fully understand the complexity of the conduct of cyber bulling nor significance of online safety (Khan, 2009). This influenced the government to react and the agencies such as CEOP, UKCAS an d IWF are developed and designed to provide information and support for the victims as well as minimise the availability of images of child sexual abuse and help to prosecute the offenders. The number of intelligence reports from Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) that led to police arrests increased from eighty three in 2006-2007 to four hundred seventeen in 2009-2010. In 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, marked the UK approaches to online child protection as one of the most effective in the world (IWF, 2009). Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Class Distinction Childhood sexual abuse in reputable families was often undetected because the biggest percentage of the higher classes appears to consist of respectable citizens. From a sociological point of view, taking children into care would be a more difficult decision in these cases as sexual abuse that involves immediate biological relatives is statistically more rare comparing to those involving lovers of the parents. Career people, doctors, teachers, and successful men, sometimes women, as well as ministers of church were therefore able to carry on the sexual abuse of children because of the widespread misconception that such terrible things could not possibly be committed by these model citizens. Another reason why many offenders were successful in hiding their crimes was because they chosen the victims who were often vulnerable and lonely children that did not have warm relationships with parents and intended to obey authority. For example, in one case study, a child was abused in front o f the neighbours who simply looked the other way because the father of the abused child had created a negative opinion of the child in their minds by repeatedly telling them what a naughty and difficult child she was. So when he chased her around while she was undressed and hit her outside, the neighbours thought nothing of it as it was an all white, middle class neighbourhood where such things never happened (Itzin 2009). Their targets are not the conventionally perceived social underclass, though many victims will be drawn from that, but are rather from a collection of groups who form the fodder of abusive networks; who are subjected over and over again throughout their lives to multiple abuses (Itzin 2000, p. 390). Unfortunately, there is no way to completely eliminate the horror of sexual abuse from society, but there is a way to encourage a shift toward making children less vulnerable. Children Act 2004 recognised children as individuals in their own right who do not deserve to be beaten, raped, or psychologically tortured. Protecting children from harm should be a responsibility of all adults as well as implementing a zero-tolerance policy on child abuse and prosecution as well as rehabilitation of all offenders, regardless to the social class.