The Players in the Cocaine Game: An investigative look at the dealers,

3 Steps to Acing Your Upcoming Group Interview You’ve been approached in for a board meet. Perhaps you’re threatened. Perhaps frightened. Possibly you’re not even sure you comprehend what that really involves. Whatever your degree of fear, here are three simple strides to traversing your board meet tranquilly and in one piece. Stage 1: BEFOREYou reserve the privilege to ask who will be on your board. Do this. At that point inquire about each board part as well as could be expected. You’ll have the option to make sense of a considerable amount and get ready better for what each may be generally quick to ask you. What does this specific gathering of individuals educate you regarding what the organization is attempting to assess?You can likewise ask to what extent (generally) the meeting should last. This will give you a nice sentiment for what amount to and fro conversation will be conceivable, how much space you’ll be given to pose inquiries, to what extent your answers can be, etc.Step 2: DURING Treat every individual on the board like an individual not simply one more anonymous face. This isn't an indifferent divider asking you inquiries. Every questioner on your board is another chance to make a human association and persuade that a lot more individuals in the organization what an extraordinary fit you would be.Be sure to observe everybody’s name as they are presented. Record every one if that causes you recall. When responding to questions, talk straightforwardly to the person who asked, yet then attempt to widen your answer out to cause the remainder of the board to feel remembered for the discussion.Step 3: AFTERYou’ve took in their names and put forth an attempt to interface with each board part presently thank every single one of them earnestly withâ solid eye to eye connection and a quality handshake. From that point forward, it’s the typical post-meet follow-up methodology. Be that as it may, recall that you have to keep in touch with one card to say thanks for each board part. It appears to be a torment, however it’s these little contacts that will help set you apart.The board talk with: 6 hints for previously, during, and after

Theory of Absolute Advantage | Analysis

Hypothesis of Absolute Advantage | Analysis Presentation In light of the mercantilism framework which commanded financial matters thought in the 18 century, Adam Smith present and gives expansion conversation of supreme favorable position hypothesis in worldwide exchange and outline what to do if nations don't adhere to the standard and saying of universal exchange An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith refute the conviction of worldwide exchange between nation was lose-lose situation which implies the picking up of a nation from global exchange was the loss of other nation. In extra, the global exchange was sure entirety game which implies nations will pick up advantage from exchanges. In the outline of supreme preferred position hypothesis, Adam Smith represent that a nation which have outright bit of leeway over other nation if its creation limit in products and enterprises is more prominent when utilizing same measure of assets or its produce a decent utilizing less assets (lower opportunity cost). Adam Smith likewise says that a nation should create merchandise where its creation limit is the most effective and exchange those products where its creation isn't proficient. In extra, outright bit of leeway hypothesis can likewise applies in the areas, urban communities and firms and duties and portions ought not limit universal exchange. Adam Smith says the work is fixed and homogeneous inside a nation. In extra, he likewise considers the work is the main factor of creation (info) and innovation and creation cost is steady in supreme bit of leeway hypothesis. He additionally delineate that transportation cost are zero and nations use bargain exchange framework exchanging. Taking everything into account, Adam Smith total preferred position hypothesis replaces the mercantilist thought and questions the target of national governments which applies mercantilist thought and gets riches through prohibitive exchange arrangements. In extra, supreme favorable position hypothesis likewise measure a nation riches through the expectation for everyday comforts of its kin. Hypothetical foundation and Issues In outright preferred position hypothesis, there are issue which is do all nations have a flat out bit of leeway. Adam Smith doesn't consider the inquiry if each nation has a flat out bit of leeway in the creation of certain products. From a hypothetical perspective, it could be conceivable that a nation has no supreme creation favorable circumstances or might lose them after some time. Adam Smith’s hypothesis recommends that supreme favorable circumstances create as an outcome of exchange and exchange may be the motivating force ways that prompts the production of outright points of interest. In any case, these days, global exchange is generally spread and the nations don't begin similarly. Or maybe, a few nations are less gainful and less fortunate. They may have a flat out bit of leeway in those merchandise which just they can deliver due to common habitat or condition. In any case, those merchandise comprise just a little part of all exchanged products. Smith gives another opportunities for less gainful nations to have an absoluteâ advantage. He expresses that poor nations may have t he option to contend in the farming segment with rich, progressively beneficial nations. Smith’s arrives at this resolution by express that the division of work doesn't similarly increment in all segments of creation and that compensation levels vary universally. Another issue in supreme favorable position hypothesis is the manner by which the exchanging between created nations that have a similarly elevated level of advancement utilizing outright preferred position hypothesis. In contrast to the hypothesis of similar preferred position, which is supplemented by intra-industry exchange hypothesis, Adam Smith’s total bit of leeway hypothesis can likewise assist with understanding exchange between created nations. Firms in created nations produce comparative mechanical items and contend over benefits and pieces of the overall industry. Exchange and achievement is dictated by total creation favorable circumstances which implies that ‘art and skill’ (innovation and instruction of the laborers) assume a critical job. Since this opposition exists locally there is no motivation behind why this sort of rivalry ought not exist universally; particularly in light of the fact that Adam Smith’s hypothesis doesn't have a fundamental contrast among residential and global exchange. An extra addition is innovation move or worldwide learning. Created nations profit by it to a more noteworthy degree than immature nations since they can utilize innovative turns of events. This can clarify, for instance, why the innovative degree of Europe and North America has united in multi year. Subsequently, a rich nation benefits more from exchange with another rich nation than from exchange with an immature nation. Conversation: Adam Smith’s Absolute Advantage Theory To represent the hypothesis of total bit of leeway, assume that there are two nations (China and Germany), creating only two items (rice and vehicles). Accept that items are tradable without laborers and expenses are not moving between the two nations, however moving between the two parts inside a nation. All laborers are similarly gainful and as the main contribution to a nation. Creation innovation in China varies from that in Germany (see table beneath). Assume that to create 1 unit of rice, Germany requires 3 units of work in the mean time China requires just 2 units of work. So also, to create 1 vehicle, Germany needs 6 units of work while China needs 8 units of work. As the outcome, China is progressively effective in the rice creation and Germany is increasingly proficient in the vehicles creation. In this manner, China has a flat out bit of leeway in the rice creation and Germany has an outright preferred position in the vehicles creation. To delineate that specialization of creation, combined with global exchange streams as indicated by the hypothesis (outright bit of leeway), can be gainful. In our model, assume that China creates less 1 unit of vehicle yet this set aside 8 units of work along these lines, presently the works can be utilized to deliver 8/2=4 units of rice (opportunity cost of vehicle creation in the China). China has now created additional 4 units of rice in spite of the fact that delivered less 1 vehicle. Ass ume that China must import 1 vehicle from Germany if China needs to expend a similar measure of vehicles like previously. Germany needs 6 units of work to deliver this vehicle. In this manner, rice creation drops by 6/3=2 units of rice (opportunity expenses of vehicle creation in Germany) as these workers must get from the rice division. Presently note that the all out creation of rice has expanded by 2 units (4 units more in China and 2 units less in Germany), while the complete creation of vehicles stay unaltered (1 vehicle less in China and 1 vehicle more in Germany). All in all, these additional units of rice show the potential increases from specialization if China and Germany concentrated on the creation of the item which they can deliver most effectively. The two nations can pick up advantage from the hypothesis, when they trade 3 units of rice for 1 vehicle. Contention: Is hypothesis of outright bit of leeway best depicts universal exchange? Outright bit of leeway alludes to a country’s capacity to deliver a specific decent more productively than another nation and it has three primary contentions. To start with, it contends that guidelines preferring one industry draw away genuine assets from another industry where they may have been all the more profitably utilized. Second, it specifies the significant of specialization in a general public. At the point when somebody has a few favorable circumstances in produce or gives a decent or administrations, the person needs to have some expertise in the creation. Third, specialization should be practice in universal business approach and countries. It is better when a nation is permits to concentrate on creation of products that it has total focal points and afterward import merchandise that different nations have supreme bit of leeway. Hypothesis of supreme favorable position gives an unmistakable and straightforward view on global exchange and causes nation choose what to produces, import and furthermore send out however it has some downside since it neglects to clarify why organized commerce can be points of interest when one nation has total bit of leeway in delivering all the merchandise. How might a nation without having any total bit of leeway in delivering any great, join and increase from organized commerce with different nations. By what means will this nation pay for its imports since it will create nothing that is less expensive to deliver as contrasted and different nations? This hypothesis overlooked to clarify how contrasts in climatic conditions and characteristic asset can add to near points of interest. Some nation has no supreme bit of leeway in all great aim by restricted assets and innovation may prohibited in global exchange advertise and thus, it will prompt clash in allot assets in that speci fic nation and lacking underway. Hypothesis of supreme preferred position centers around which nation can item great by utilizing lesser assets. On the off chance that there is no exchange between nations, at that point the costs of cooperative attitude shows by its assets cost in every nation. The distinction in costs with no exchange will arrive at an identical cost with every great being traded from the at first low-value nation and imported by the at first significant expense nation. Smiths approach doesn't show what might occur if a similar nation had total preferred position in the two items. The hypothesis of similar bit of leeway presents by David Ricardo has take care of this issue as it don't considers cost underway yet opportunity cost. A nation will exchange the example that boosts its preferred position. Next, total bit of leeway neglects to delineate the genuine circumstance in worldwide market as a result of some suspicion. To start with, it doesn't consider transportation costs engaged with selling the item. For example, if item is trading among China and German, the transportation cost may cause the cost considerably higher than the first cost without exchange due to significant distance. Also, Adam Smith accept that trade rates are steady which the case is only here and there and henceforth it is a li

Purdue Annotated Bibliography - What Are They?

Purdue Annotated Bibliography - What Are They?The Purdue Annotated Bibliography is a great resource for the public to use. There are many different kinds of bibliographies that are available. These types of bibliographies are normally called bibles, but they can also be referred to as reference books, short reference books, or electronic books.The bible type of bibliography is usually one book that contains several references to documents and papers that are taken from various sources. In the future, if you are really into researching a certain document or paper, then the bible type of bibliography can be very helpful. They are also very useful for when you need to reference materials that you have already written.Another type of bibliography is the obituary. These bibliographies have entries of people who have passed away, these may include important dates in their life, and their biography.The obituary bibliography is useful if you want to memorialize someone by writing their obitu ary. A lot of people do not realize the importance of obituaries until the death of their loved ones happens, so this is a good bibliography to use.Another type of bibliography is the internet-based bibliography. In this bibliography, you can get references from internet searches. These bibliographies can be used for searching information online or offline.These bibliographies will provide you with basic information about a person. You will be able to find names, birthdates, city of residence, and more. These types of bibliographies are perfect for anyone who does not know much about the people that they are researching, but needs the basic information.With the right bibliography for your research tasks, you will find it much easier to learn about people. Many different bibliographies can be found online, just make sure that you find the right one for your research needs.

The Decline of the American Dream Essay - 4488 Words

On a brisk September day in 2011, in the commercial district of Manhattan Island, a minute protest in Liberty Square commenced against the fiscal atrocities committed by economic establishments leading to the financial crisis and subsequent economic recession in 2007 and 2008. Over the course of the month, the movement protesting the miscarriage of justice and democracy following the economic catastrophe and the overall inequitable and unfair wealth distribution diffused to over 100 American cities as well as 1,500 cities worldwide. The revolutionary movement was named Occupy Wall Street and through occupying and protesting the symbolic location of the financial elite, Wall Street, the crusade aimed to â€Å"[revolt] against the corrosive power†¦show more content†¦This would change with the election of General Andrew Jackson, and thus commencing the Era of the Common Man in which the commoners in the United States gained extensive political power through enfranchisement. A ndrew Jacksons humble beginnings and policies to expand the franchise to include all men regardless of property requisites epitomized the common man’s victory over the privileged aristocrats who prevailed in politics during the nations beginning era. During Andrew Jacksons presidency, a Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to the developing country to â€Å"gain knowledge of the American political development...which he had hoped to use in order to influence Frances [own] political development† following their own revolution (â€Å"Biography†). Recalling his observations and studies of the political system and society in the United States, Alexis published Democracy in America, an extremely optimistic account of the democracy branded by the American constituency. In Democracy in America, Alexis described and coined concepts that would become inherent to the American creed as well as the ideals of Occupy Wall Street today, such as the concept of America n Exceptionalism and the American Dream. During hisShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams1222 Words   |  5 Pages The American Dream is an ethos idealized by millions of people. It is an attitude and mindset that can promote success and prosperity throughout life. When it comes to the American dream, a significant part is the quest for money. As shown in classic American Literature such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, the influence of money plays an important role throughout both novels. 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Fitzgerald conveys to us a theme of the decline of the American dream in the 1920’s. This is seen in both the book, and the 2007 on screen adaptation of the Great Gatsby. In the novel, by Fitzgerald Jay Gatsby lives with a certain swagger and aura around him that he seems almost mesmerizing. Nick Carraway, theRead MoreThe Causes And Aspects Of The American Dream1014 Words   |  5 Pagesthey wanted, and to be free. This idea would be known as the American Dream. Sadly, over the years, these big dreams have been dying and for many they’ve already passed on with no chance of coming back. In all aspects, I’m in total agreement. Unfortunately, people cant get ahead financially, debt is crushing the life of students and regular working people, and important things are slipping away, such as medical care. If the American dream means having a reasonable rate of income growth, unfortunately

Human Resource Management - Work Flexibility - 2229 Words

Work Flexibility Flexitime is essentially an arrangement between employers and employees, which allows for the negotiation of hours of work around a core time. It is a work schedule that varies, in contrast to traditional work arrangements having the need of employees working a standard 9am to 5pm a day. Flexibility takes different shapes and it is all about finding new ways to achieve success in an increasingly complex world. This not only includes employees having more choices in when to work but also the amount of working hours is adapted to fit the employees. There are also more choices in where to work through having the options to work from places other than the office all or some of the time, this being occasionally or on a†¦show more content†¦(Mr. Jay’s Lecture Notes) J. Atkinson described the way in which firms are able to develop flexibility in their approach to employment as shown in his diagram. (http://www.welfare.ie) The diagram shows that a flexible firm in J. Atkinson s analysis has various ways of catering to the needs for human resources. Firstly, there are the core employees; they form the main labour market. They are highly favored by the employer, well paid and involved in all the activities of the organisation. These core employees have improved career success and they offer the type of flexibility to the employer. Atkinson goes on to describe that there are two peripheral groups. The first being those who have skills that are needed but not specific to the particular firm, like typing and word processing. The second peripheral group however is made up of those enjoying even less security in their jobs, as their contracts of employment are limited because it is either a short-term or a part-time attachment. There may also be a few job sharers and many participants on government training schemes who find themselves in this category. 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IT Consultants Western Widgents

Question: Discuss about the case study IT Consultants for Western Widgents. Answer: Introduction: The western widgets is a wholesale business that supplies widgets to clients in a local area and other regions. The company has gained the reputation in years for being fast and reliable in providing their services to clients. The company achieves this through a turnaround from the submission and delivery of orders; this is because they have built a large clientele base over the years throughout the southwest and Toowoomba region. Widget consultants is located in the local industry estate and occupies the large single storey shed of the warehouse and a co-located building where the main office is situated. The following service level agreement discusses issues, which will be covered by the organisation to meet the clients needs in all areas (Deng, et al., 2003)(eContent, 2006). The agreement discusses, objective, period of the agreement, procedure, and other important areas of the service level agreement such as the information technology, contingency plan that looks at some of the t hreats and ways to minimise down time for business critical function, the customer service staff responsibilities and the responsibilities of the employee in this agreement. Service Level Agreement Statement of Intent The aim of this agreement is to provide the company with a strong base that will pave way for close co-operation between the clients for disaster management action plan to be provided by Western Widget IT consultants. The agreement is important in ensuring that the services are provided in an efficient and timely manner to the clients. The objectives of this agreement is detailed in section 1.2. This agreement is dependent on each participant fulfilling and knowing their responsibilities and having an environment to maintain and meet the main issues in the service areas (A.Harzing A.Pinnington, 2011)(Akpoyomare, et al., 2012)(Briggs, et al., 2016)(Cameron, 2004). Objective of Service Level Agreement To come up with proper responsibilities that all parties will undertake in the agreement, To create an environment that will be conducive to a two-way relationship between the client and the office administration to ensure that there is a strong support of the clients needs and administrative activities. To make sure that the IT consultant achieves the provision of high quality service for the client when it comes to disaster recovery with full support of the client as required. To elaborate on the day of beginning for the service level agreement, initial levels and the provision of reviews for the terms underlayed. To show in detail the types of services that will be provided by the IT consultant and the level of service that will be expected by the organisation to reduce the misunderstanding between the organisation and the client. To come up with a formal system of service objective way of monitoring and make sure that assessment of the recovery program are based on facts. To ensure that there is a mutual understand of the IT consultant requirements / abilities and that of the terms required in the disaster recovery program. Provide the IT consultant and the client a single and openly referenced documentation. Period of Agreement This service level agreement will begin on the specified date in the Memorandum of Understanding with reference to the acceptance of the terms by each party and shall continue so unless otherwise agreed by the parties. Agreement Review Procedure The review procedure of this agreement will be done annually and at a date, which is mutual agreed by the client and office administration of Western Widgets. In kind of review will cover services that are provided, procedures and all service levels. Any type of change to the agreement will have to be approved by the office of Western Widgets administration and the Client. Representatives The Western Widget consultants and the clients nominate the following representatives to be responsible for the monitoring and the maintenance of this service level agreement. Western Widget Administration Representative Client Representative Reference Documents As part of the agreement, the following documents will be vital, as a basis for the procedures and policies by Western Widgets in executing is services. The documentation will also define the levels of support that are required and activities being prioritized with regard to the needs of the client. First of all the supports services by the administration of western widgets will be provided with the current standard operating procedures for IT consultants, the company also has a code of federal regulations that will be followed, property management regulations, orders of execution, personnel management rules and regulations, letters and other bargaining agreements(Jones, 2014)(Bozarth Handfield, 2012)(Early, 2006). Service Level Monitoring In order for this service level agreement to succeed, then it will call upon the ability for the company to measure performance accurately to gather reliable and credible information, which the IT consultant will provide, to the customer and support areas, which are provided by the services. These factors will need to be measurable, meaningful and constantly monitored. The services will also be compared with the target levels agreed by the client and the IT consultant. Should there be any form of discrepancy between the agreed target and the service levels by the two parties; then a solution should come between the two parties and come up with a resolution on the same. Monitoring of the service levels will also be done by the Western Widgets administration and the client representative (Cohen, et al., 2007)(Armstrong, 2012). The consultant will also be responsible in providing progress reports for the services that will have been provided and they will be called upon to share with th e representatives of the clients organisation. Complaints During the implementation of this agreement, all complaints regarding: Actual type of support offered. Expected levels of support offered. Responsibilities of each personnel during the administration of the agreement. Any other issues that are related to this document or the relationship between the IT consultant and the client. Information that will be received by each party shall be forwarded in form of writing to the two signatories of this agreement. The main intention will be to ensure that there is a transparent resolution of all problems. IT Consultants Service Desk Service Desk The IT consultants service desk will be responsible for providing IT support services to the clients and employees of the organisation. Some of these services will include client information security, networking services, real-time online customer care, handling customer complaints, responding to clients emails and management of the organisational activities. Scope The IT consultant will be responsible in provision of all services but not limited to clients needs especially in handling client complaints, administering and answering client emails, providing online real-time complaints response and managing clients calls. Such other activities will include as indicated in 3.0 Customer Service Statement The aim of customer service will be to attend to any need, complaints and other calls from the organisations clients. This will also include providing the customer will the right information, provide alternative solution to a crisis and be able to make appropriate referrals when needed at any point. Key Performance Indicator Targets for Service Desk There should be evidence of overall customer satisfaction. This will be collected by allowing a customer to fill an online survey customer feedback after each access of the companys services. The company will also have a performance score which will be used to rate whether customer are happy with the services provided by the company. If the rate is higher than it means that client was satisfied and would recommend the consultant to the next customer that his needs were met. There will also be the use of an average resolution time indicator. This means that the customer will report to the administration the time that was used to respond to his needs. If his problems were responded to in a timely manner then the consultant will have performed to the requirements (Armstrong, 2012). Lastly, the consultant would also want to know if the customer issues were resolved satisfactorily during a disaster (Briggs, et al., 2016). I.T Consultants Responsibilities General responsibilities: The IT consultant should be able to handle general problems that affect the clients under their care. He should be able to provide prompt response to any problem that come to them. IT consultant will also assist in selling the name of the organisation to the clients will come for other services. This will involve introducing the client to services other than those they came to seek help. The IT consultant will also be responsible for other clerical tasks for the organisation that will include other secretarial service as deemed necessary. Service Desk responsibilities: Receive, track, monitor and assist in any customer disasters. Collect and distribute information within the network and outside which are more complex to the customer. Provide an end user and in-house user documentation. Responsible for operations in the IT help Desk outside the normal business hours or on a needs basis. Review and update all data shifts on a continual basis Data Communications responsibilities: Research and document common data related problems. Develop and provide IT related training to clients on a needs basis. Manage client information including recovery of lost information and provide IT related solutions (Wischnowski, et al., 2003)(Kramar, et al., 2012). In charge of real-time customer related response during a disaster occurrence. Ensure and maintain the highest level of confidentiality between the client and the company. This will include recording and keeping all clients information, not sharing client passwords with other staff members or companies. Maintain high levels of professionalism and perform other duties as may be assigned (Jacobs Chase, 2014). Hours of Operation The hours of operation for Western widgets will be as follows: Office Hours: 8:00 AM- 5:00 PM for seven days a week. Overtime Hours: 5:00PM to 8:00AM from Monday to Friday. Response Times to Incidents The response time to incidents reported by clients will be within 20-30 minutes of the call. INCIDENT RESPONSE TIME Low internet communication 20-30 minutes Payroll system low 20-30 minutes Crashed Customer feedback system 1 hour Priority Level Response Times Priority level Response time will be within 10 minutes. PRIORITY RESPONSE TIME Poor customer feedback system 10 Faulty Phone extension lines 10 Poor network server 10 Service Requests (SR) Response time for service will be done within 2 hours of the call. This will involve gathering of information from the person requesting, finding appropriate person and details and reverting to the client. Custom Requests (CR) Custom request shall be done within 12 hours of the call. Escalation Process Escalation process will take within 2 to 3 working days. This will provide time to investigate the issue, find the right response, repackage, and revert. I.T Service Continuity and Security Planned Outages Planned outages for this agreement will only be visited during the following window period between 9:00AM 9:00 PM on Sundays. It will however be changed depending on the needs of the client and upon prior notice. Disaster Recovery and Service Recovery Objectives Data Security and System Integrity There will be strict handling and administration of clients data all time. In times of access to the clients data, the client shall be duly informed to authorise any use of data. The client shall also deserve administrative rights of his data and will provide authorisation for its use. Customer Responsibilities To provide as much information as deemed necessary by the IT consultant. To not withhold any information when asked to do so by the consultant. To share all the administrative rights with the consultant so long as it will be used in solving the disaster at hand. To cooperate with the consultant during the time of the services. To act with respect and prompt response when asked by the consultant. To meet all the costs and other requirements as described in the service. To respond to other calls by the consultant (Adrian, 2007)(H.Zhao Seibert, 2006). Disaster recovery Plan Plan Updating The Disaster Recovery Plan updating will properly be controlled to the needs of the client. All the changes made will be fully tested and appropriate amendments made before signing of the SLA. All the Disaster Recovery Plan procedures will be done under the control of the IT Consultant. Documentation and Storage With regard to the Disaster Recovery Plan, all information will be documented and stored in secure locations as directed by the company. The senior management will be issued with the Storage device and a hard copy of this agreement. Each team member will also be issued with a CD and hard copy of the plan. There will be a master copy; this will be stored in specific resources that are established for this course. Strategy for Backup With regard to this agreement, all the business processes between the IT consultant and the client will be listed. The strategy will involve the maintenance of a duplicate site that will enable an instant switching between the headquarters and the backup area. Some of the most vital areas will include: KEY BUSINESS PROCESS BACKUP STRATEGY IT Operations Fully mirrored recovery site Tech Support - Hardware Fully mirrored recovery site Tech Support - Software Fully mirrored recovery site Facilities Management Fully mirrored recovery site Email Fully mirrored recovery site Purchasing Fully mirrored recovery site Disaster Recovery Fully mirrored recovery site Finance Fully mirrored recovery site Contracts Admin Fully mirrored recovery site Warehouse Inventory Fully mirrored recovery site Product Sales Fully mirrored recovery site Maintenance Sales Fully mirrored recovery site Human Resources Off-site data storage facility Testing Fully Mirrored Recovery site - Fully mirrored recovery site Workshop Fully Mirrored Recovery site - Fully mirrored recovery site Call Center Fully mirrored recovery site Web Site Fully mirrored recovery site Management of Risks With regard to the business processes, there are disruptive threats that will occur anytime that will affect the service. Some of the potential threats for the IT consultant are listed in the below table. Each risk has been examined clearly with regard to the level of business disruption that could arise from each disaster. Potential disasters have been assessed as follows: Potential Disaster Probability Rating Impact Rating Brief Description Of Potential Consequences Remedial Actions Fire 3 4 Excess power load that could cause cables to heat up. Fire and smoke detectors on all floors. Act of sabotage 5 Electrical power failure 3 4 Redundant UPS array together with auto standby generator that is tested weekly remotely monitored 24/7. UPSs also remotely monitored. Loss of communications network services 4 4 Poor LAN or ISP that will lead to loss of communication. Purchase a new service provider. Have backup. Probability: 1=Very High, 5=Very Low Impact: 1=Total destruction, 5=Minor annoyance Plan Triggering Events There will be key issues identified by the IT consultant that will trigger the activation of Disaster Recovery Plan. With regard to the work under the Service Level Agreement, some of the main key trigger issues are: Total Loss of Power Total Loss of Communication Lack of coordination between the management and the IT team Total Loss of Local Area Network When this happens all the departments will assemble at the working group-meeting hall or at the recreation hall as an alternative. Disaster Recovery Team The IT consultant will contact and assemble the Disaster Recovery Team. The responsibility of this team will include but not limited to the following: Restore the Key IT service in a span of 1 hour of the incident. Establish areas of emergency and course of action. Recover to normal Business within 4-6 hours after the incident. Coordinate activities with the client and his team as first responders. Report to the IT consultant and the client on progress. Disaster Recovery Procedures for the Management Team The IT consultant will ensure that there is a hard copy of the names and contact numbers of each employee working in various departments. The management department will work with the IT consultant in storage of customer and client information, both in a backup hard disk and in hard copy. They will also be issued with the Disaster Recovery plan and business continuity plan, which they will be allowed to keep in their homes in the event that the building could be inaccessible due to natural disasters like fire. There will also be close contact will all employees with regard to disaster and immediate action for the company. Employees who will not reach fellow staff from their list will be provided with staff emergency contacts. If the manager of a particular department assigned to contact another client is inaccessible, the backup staff member will do this job. Recorded Messages and other updates Whenever staff desires to get latest information and response from the organization, they will be provided with a toll free number, which will be listed in the disaster recovery card. In the card, there will be details on the nature of disaster, where to assemble and constant updates regard time and day to resume work. Financial and other legal issues The disaster recovery Plan team will prepare an initial financial and personal assessment of each employee. It will then compare this with the impact of financial affairs of the clients business. Some of the areas to look at will include: Health fitness Family background Financial documents Sources of revenue Check books, credit cards, online bank accounts Cash at hand Contingency Plan Objectives and Phases The main objectives of the Contingency Plan will be to ensure that there is uninterrupted existence of the companys business functions to the client as per the service level agreement. This will evolve around the protection of two most vital areas of the clients business, and this is Data and Personnel. All areas of the business contingency plan will address protection and safety of Data and Personnel information. This will be done in the following order: Contingency Phases The IT consultant together with the client will determine which team member will be responsible for each function during the contingency plan phase. There will be addition duties and responsibilities that will address specific actions and functions during each phase. Response Phase The response phase thus will server the following functions: To come up with an immediate and controlled mechanism at the place of action. Conduct the initial assessment of the impact of the incident, if there were losses or damage of equipment and disruption to the IT business and operations. To investigate and provide proper information on, if, or when there will be access to the system will be allowed. Provide the client with facts that are necessary to make right and informed decisions with regard to the resumption and the recovery of the business. Resumption Phase The main activities during the resumption phase will be: To organize and establish an IT management and control center and a site for the resumption of IT operations. The team will also activate and mobilize the support system that is necessary to support and facilitate resumption of activities. The team will also notify and appraise all the urgent business operations from the directives of the IT consultant and the client. The team will also alert all employees, suppliers, customers and the entire organization of the progress. Recovery Phase During the recovery phase of the contingency plan, the IT consultant and his team will prepare and implement all the actions necessary to support the recovery of very sensitive and urgent business processes. The team will also coordinate with the IT consultant and the Client to discern responsibilities will fall above their jurisdiction or beyond their control. In addition, the team will liaise with other employees in various departments during the recovery processes. Restoration Phase In this phase, the IT consultant and his team will come up with procedures that are necessary to implement the contingency plan; this include migration or relocation of the business process to an alternative site or service provider. The team will also ensure the implementation of important procedures that will support, mobilize operations and technology department migration or relocation. IT consultant will oversee all the relocation or recovery efforts and perform staff, stakeholders and customer notification before, during and after relocation of resumption of business process. Assumptions During the implementation of the contingency plan, the following assumptions are made; First, it is there will be evident running telecommunication connectivity and fibre optic cabling which Internet Service Provider and the Telecom Department will provide. Also all the necessary Memorandums of Agreement and Understanding will have been executed. Major Issues and Factors Some of the major Issues that can be encountered by the IT consultant during the implementation of the contingency plan will be as follows: The lack of clients budgetary commitment to the Disaster recovery. Absolute commitment by the clients senior management to Contingency plan and disaster recovery. Interruption to the proposed scheduling procedures for the repairing and backing up of files to the storage system. The development and execution of the Memorandum of understanding and Agreement and Service Level Agreement. Completion of the required assessment for and completion of the procurement of required Items for the business processes. Contingency and Disaster Recovery Plan matrix Core business functions Characteristics of interruption Short term (Up to [TIMEFRAME]) Long term (More than [TIMEFRAME]) Payroll Inavailability of building and payroll system Organize with the bank to ensure payments are wired as previousely done in the past month. IT consultant to organise for a backup payroll system be installed promptly. Email No Email Access In the Building and Fault with the exchange Server IT consultant to advice ISP . Accounts to be set up to access email over webmail of the disaster is not recovered promptly. Buy a new server or borrow server and rebuild. Collect back ups from off store storage. Network- Including Print and remote access No access to shared drives, prints and financial information IT consultant to contact IT supplier to support remotely. Implementation or repair of terminal server to wait until access to the building is restored. If the problem persists decision to be made on purchasing a new one. Phone and landlines Access to phone system down including mobile phones Contact Telcom firm to fix the problem. Advice the provider to separate main lines from extension systems Arrange for telcom firm to remove diversion Accounting Systems No access to building and other special financial systems IT consultant to contact IT supplier and repaire SQL server. If unrepairable purchase new server. Signatures of approval By signing below, all parties agree to the terms and conditions described in this Agreement. The Terms and Conditions will apply for (check the required box only): Services As per Appendix A Service Catalogue Hours of Coverage As per this SLA Director, Information Technology Management Support IT CONSULTANTS: Name: Damien John Stritch Position: IT Technician/Consultant Signature: Date: 12/08/2016 Manager Western Widgets Name: Position: Signature: Date: References A.Harzing A.Pinnington, 2011. International Human Resource Management. London : Sage Pub. Adrian, H., 2007. Corporate truth: the limits to transparency. Sterling: VA: Earthscan.. Akpoyomare, O., Adeosun, L. Ganiyu, R., 2012. Differentiation and Positioning Strategy: A Toss of the Same Coin.. International Journal of Management and Sustainability, 1(2), pp. 53--65. Armstrong, M., 2012. Armstrong's handbook of management and leadership: developing effective people skills for better leadership and management. s.l.:Kogan Page. Bozarth, C. Handfield, R., 2012. Introduction to operations and supply chain management. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.. Briggs, D. M., Swailes, S. Baker, S., 2016. The measurement of worker relations: the development of a three-component scale.. Leadership Organization Development Journal, 37(1), pp. 2-12. Cameron, K., 2004. Strategies for successful organisational downsizing. Human Resource Management, 33(2), pp. 189-211. Cohen, L., Manion, L. Morrison, K., 2007. Research Methods in Education (6th Ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. Deng, J., Menguc, B. Benson, J., 2003. The impact of human resource management on export performance of Chinese manufacturing enterprises.. Thunderbird International Business Review, p. 409429. Early, J., 2006. Service level agreements. Nursing management , 3(3), p. 25. eContent, 2006. Governance: corporate social responsibilty and employee accountability. Innovation: Management, Policy, Practice, 8(1), pp. 8-12. H.Zhao Seibert, S., 2006. The big five personality dimensions and entrepreneurial personality dimensions and entrepreneurial. Journal of Applied Psychology, pp. 91(2), 259-271.. Jacobs, R. F. Chase, R. B., 2014. Operations and supply chain management. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Jones, R., 2014. Largest IT consulting Companies. Arkansas Business, 52(31), p. 90. Kramar, Syed, R. a. J, 2012. Human Resource Management In A Global Context. London: Palgrave Macmillan (658.3KRA). Wischnowski, M., Pfluke, J. Twining, D., 2003. Writing an Interagency Agreement. Young Exceptional Children, 6(4), pp. 11-17.

Victor Hugo Example For Students

Victor Hugo Biography Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885) French poet, novelist and dramatist, born in Besanà §on. Son of an officer in Napolà ©on’s army, his childhood was a series of moves from one military station to another in Italy, Spain and France. He won prizes for poetry from the age of 17, married Adà ¨le Foucher at 20, published his first novel Han d’Islande (1823) and heralded the rise of Romantic drama with his play Cromwell (1827). The long run of the tragedy Hernani (1830), which withstood the boos, hisses and even rioting of the classicists among its audiences, assured the victory of the Romantic movement and Hugo’s own position. Among later plays were Le Roi s’amuse (1832), the basis of *Verdi’s Rigoletto, Lucrà ¨ce Borgia (1833) in which a part was played by Juliette Drouet, his mistress for nearly 50 years, although he remained a devoted husband, and Ruy Blas (1838). We will write a custom essay on Victor Hugo specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now More than 100 operas were based on his works including Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia (1833), Verdi’s Ernani (1844) and Rigoletto (based on Le Roi s’amuse: 1851), and Ponchielli’s La Giaconda (1876). Meanwhile his Les Orientales (1829), mainly on Grecian and Moorish themes, and Les Feuilles d’Automne (1831) confirmed his reputation as a great lyric poet. His great novel Nà ´tre Dame de Paris (1831), set in medieval times, told the story of the hopeless passion of the hunchbacked bellringer Quasimodo for Esmeralda. Hugo was elected to the Acadà ©mie Franà §aise in 1841. Politics, in which he was a somewhat unpredictable liberal, began to play an increasing part in his life. King Louis-Philippe made him a peer, but during the dictatorship and empire of Napolà ©on III, whom Hugo attacked in verse and prose, he lived in exile in Brussels, Jersey, and from 1855 at Hauteville House, Guernsey, still preserved much as he left it. Much of his writing during exile was philosophic and historical (the first part of La Là ©gende des Sià ¨cles was published in 1859), but it includes his greatest novel Les Misà ©rables (1862), the story of the criminal Jean Valjean, and Les Travailleurs de la mer (1866), a wonderful evocation of a Guernsey fisherman’s life. Hugo returned to France after the fall of Napolà ©on and was present at the siege of Paris. He sat in the Constituent Assembly (1870– 71) and became a senator in 1874. Now a national institution, he continued to write novels, e.g. Quatrevingt-treize (1874), concerned with the Revolutionary year of 1793 – and a verse drama, Torquemada (1882). Vast crowds attended his funeral at the Panthà ©on. Hugo wrote too much for too long and his work is, therefore, uneven. Moreover Romanticism lost its vogue and he shared loss of favour with, for example, Scott. But few writers have produced so much that is first-rate, in so many different fields, and he does not deserve Andrà © Gide’s taunt that ‘France’s greatest poet was Victor Hugo, alas’. Also a gifted artist, his powerful ink drawings ranged from architectural subjects to nightmares.

Cross-Cultural Negotiations essays

Cross-Cultural Negotiations essays Cross-cultural negotiations is the interactions, typically in business, that occur between various cultures. These negotiations are typically viewed as occurring between various nations, but cross-cultural studies can also occur between different cultures within the same nation, such as between European-Americans and Native Americans. As the world becomes more and more interdependent as a result in the expansion of globalization and international business relations, cross-cultural negotiations are becoming a common feature in business and political transactions. This being the case, understanding how cross-cultural negotiations occur is an important skill to have. Thus, there has been an abundance of research and literature conducted and written on the topic. What follows is a brief review of the current literature available on the topic of cross-cultural negotiations. I.Hendon, Donald W., Herbig, Paul and Rebecca Angeles Hendon. (1999). Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. This book focuses on cross-cultural negotiations as they apply to international business. Its premise is that many business opportunities have been lost due to cultural misunderstandings. To prevent this problem from occurring, special emphasis needs to be placed on adequate attention to details and a better understanding of the cultural heritage of the other negotiating team. What is most beneficial of this book is that it is written by international business practitioners and comes with a country-by-country profile containing relevant cultural advice. II.Magala, Slawomir. (2005). Cross-Cultural Competence. New York: Taylor This work focuses on successful cross-cultural management as being the key to international business. At the most basic level of cross-cultural negotiations is cultural competency, or a cultural literacy. In other words, the first step to successful cross-cultur...

Application of Leiningers theory to the Muslim Client

Application of Leiningers theory to the Muslim Client According to Madeleine Leininger, care is the essence and the central, unifying, and dominant domain to characterize nursing (Leininger, 1984). To Leininger, â€Å"care and culture were inextricably linked together and could not be separated in nursing care actions and decisions† (Leininger, 1988, p. 153). Her theory of cultural care diversity and universality proves particularly useful in giving care in multicultural societies such as Canada where clients from non Anglo-Saxon origins have different interpretations of care and whose strict cultural beliefs, religion makes it impossible for minimal or no acculturation of nursing care of the dominant culture. The conservative Muslim client is unique in the sense that no matter where he or she comes from, Islam dictates how the client is supposed to live their life. Embedded in Islam is what care means. Nevertheless, it is important for nurses to be cognizant of the fact that Muslims have different origins and thus different cul tures. This paper explores what some of these care practices are in Islam and how Leininger’s modes of nursing care can be used in providing culturally congruent care. Leininger conceptualizes that there are two kinds of care that exist in every culture and are important to nursing care. These are generic and professional care. Generic care is the naturalistic local, folk and familiar home care practices whereas professional care in contrast is cognitively learned, practiced and transmitted knowledge learned through formal and informal professional nursing schools (Leininger, 1991). For a nurse to provide culturally competent care the two types of care have to be in unison. In which case, the ultimate goal is to link and synthesize generic and professional care to benefit the client. Leininger developed the sunrise model to help nurses visualize components of the theory influencing human care. The model conceptually depicts the worldview, cultural and social structure dimensi ons which influence generic and professional care which in turn influences nursing care actions and decisions. The nursing care actions and decisions include cultural preservation, accommodation and repatterning. Wehbe-Alamah, Lawrence, Rozmus and Luna all agree that a nurse’s knowledge of the basic tenets of Islam is important in providing culturally congruent care to the client. They also caution that since Muslim’s originate from different places and thus different cultural backgrounds it is imperative that Muslim’s are not treated as a homogenous group. It becomes important that in addition to knowing the tenets of Islam, the nurse inquires about the folk practices of the patient. Also all articles point to Leininger’s nursing modes of repatterning, accommodation and preservation as effective methods in achieving culturally congruent care. Wehbe-Alamah relies on the research of others as well as descriptive sources in providing what care means in Isla m while Lawrence and Rozmus rely on the Koran, the Hadith and modern interpretations of those writings as their source. Luna on the other hand conducts a study in which she analyzes the meanings and experiences of care of immigrant Lebanese Muslims living in a large Midwest urban community in the US. She explores the meaning of care in the clinic, community and clinic context. Narayanasamy’s study on how nurses respond to cultural needs also cautions that nurses must be careful in stereotyping people of the same religion since their cultural needs might be different.

UPMC & Highmark Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

UPMC & Highmark - Assignment Example The key reason for this battle is the attempt by Highmark Inc. to acquire a financially troubled group of hospitals known as West Penn Allegheny Health System. Highmark Inc. argues that this move will significantly lower medical costs and offer efficient health care services (Scarpino, 2013). On the other hand, UPMC, which has its own insurance firm, believes that it will not continue to bolster a company that will be a direct rival to its 19 area hospitals (Scarpino, G. 2013). Therefore, UPMC has resulted to increasing charges for patients covered by Highmark. UPMC says that Highmark’s plan to shift its 41000 inpatient from UPMC to its allegedly new chain of hospitals will result into UPMC closing its Shadyside and UPMC mercy sections and laying off over 11,000 of its employees (Baumol & Blinder, 2012). Additionally, UPMC also argues that this move will make most employees change their insurance plans that are attached to their current places of employment. This will result into the lose of patients tied to Highmark. Highmark also says that since UPMC has its own insurer, then it would be of no issue if it had its own health giver network. They believe that a little competition will be beneficial to the residents of Pittsburg since they will be provided with a range of health care providers to choose from. In response to UPMC’s sentiments that it is impossible to change insurance since it is tied to employment, Highmark says that it is also difficult for the patients to abandon the doctors that they have fully trusted and build confidence in, in pursuit for new relationships (Baumol & Blinder, 2012). I feel that UPMC has been able to get their message across most effectively because they have clearly shown that Highmark is in pursuit of its own personal interests without caring about the patients and relationships that they had built with UPMC. All the counter reactions made by UPMC were in the attempt to protect their business, as most health

The Political Theory of Machiavelli Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

The Political Theory of Machiavelli - Essay Example It makes sense to ask a question about whether it is possible to justify his political concept and see its validity. Following the logic of Abramson, one can find two main arguments in favor of the validity of Machiavelli’s theory. The first argument assumes that Machiavelli considered his theory as useful for those rulers who tried to avoid evil because he was aware that political activity is always associated with a certain kind of cruelty and violence (location 2085). In turn, the second argument is that the philosopher developed his political concept based on the use of pagan rather than Christian morality (locations 2094 and 2101). As he saw it, in contrast to Christian ethics, pagan morality gave much more opportunities to solve an extremely important political task, namely the unification of Italy (location 2101). In general, the validity of his concept stems from the fact that it was aimed at strengthening the political power in Italy and its unification into a single country able to demonstrate a high economic and social potential. Thus, the aim of the paper is to provide two main arguments in favor of the political theory of Machiavelli. As previously noted, the negative attitude towards the political philosophy of Machiavelli is due to the fact that the philosopher justified the use of violence, abuse, lies, and deceit to gain the authority of the governor. In his famous work titled The Prince, Machiavelli suggested political leadership based on a number of principles, in particular, pursuing the aim to eliminate political opponents. One can identify a few basic principles proposed by Machiavelli in this work. Firstly, the philosopher said that the desire to seize power using violence and cruelty is rather natural.

Reasons for Womens Suffrage Campaign :: essays research papers

In the years after 1870 there were many reasons for the development of the women’s suffrage movement. The main reasons were changes in the law. Some affecting directly affecting women, and some not, but they all added to the momentum of Women’s campaign for the vote. Before 1870 there were few bills passed to achieve much for the movement. One bill that was passed, which did not directly affect women in too many ways was one of the starting points of the campaign for the vote. This was the 1867 Reform Act. In 1832, the Great Reform Act was passed, this allowed most middle class men to vote, but not working class men. But, the 1867 Reform Act changed this. This Act lead to all men who had lived at the same address for 12 months to be able vote. This meant that many more working class men were able to vote in the General elections. After this Act, many women felt that if the majority of men, regardless of class, were able to vote, why should women not be able to vote as well. Later, in 1870 the first part of the Married Women’s Property Act was passed. Until this act was passed, when a woman married, any property she owned was legally transferred to her husband. Divorce laws heavily favored men, and a divorced wife could expect to lose any property she possessed before she married. The implications of these two Acts combined, was enough to start women questioning the reasons for them not being able to vote, it started the campaign of votes for women. In the second part of the Reform Act, in 1884, many more men were able to vote. This simply fueled the campaign even more. As even more men could vote, still no women could. Despite all this, women could still vote in some things. The 1869 and 1882 Municipal Council Acts allowed women to vote in council elections. Women could also vote in elections for School Boards from 1870, for Boards of Health from 1875 and in elections to the London County Council from 1889. The Local Government Acts of 1894 and 1899, which set up district and borough councils, also included women as voters. So, women were already allowed to vote in: council elections, school board elections, health board elections, county council elections and others. Why were they not able to votes in such things as General elections? Reasons for Women's Suffrage Campaign :: essays research papers In the years after 1870 there were many reasons for the development of the women’s suffrage movement. The main reasons were changes in the law. Some affecting directly affecting women, and some not, but they all added to the momentum of Women’s campaign for the vote. Before 1870 there were few bills passed to achieve much for the movement. One bill that was passed, which did not directly affect women in too many ways was one of the starting points of the campaign for the vote. This was the 1867 Reform Act. In 1832, the Great Reform Act was passed, this allowed most middle class men to vote, but not working class men. But, the 1867 Reform Act changed this. This Act lead to all men who had lived at the same address for 12 months to be able vote. This meant that many more working class men were able to vote in the General elections. After this Act, many women felt that if the majority of men, regardless of class, were able to vote, why should women not be able to vote as well. Later, in 1870 the first part of the Married Women’s Property Act was passed. Until this act was passed, when a woman married, any property she owned was legally transferred to her husband. Divorce laws heavily favored men, and a divorced wife could expect to lose any property she possessed before she married. The implications of these two Acts combined, was enough to start women questioning the reasons for them not being able to vote, it started the campaign of votes for women. In the second part of the Reform Act, in 1884, many more men were able to vote. This simply fueled the campaign even more. As even more men could vote, still no women could. Despite all this, women could still vote in some things. The 1869 and 1882 Municipal Council Acts allowed women to vote in council elections. Women could also vote in elections for School Boards from 1870, for Boards of Health from 1875 and in elections to the London County Council from 1889. The Local Government Acts of 1894 and 1899, which set up district and borough councils, also included women as voters. So, women were already allowed to vote in: council elections, school board elections, health board elections, county council elections and others. Why were they not able to votes in such things as General elections?

Ethics in Decision Making Essay

Decision making or the process of choosing among alternatives is practiced by almost all individuals (Mingst, 2001). In almost every situation people is faced with the idea of making decisions whether it is as simple as choosing what clothes to buy up to life changing choices like deciding on a particular career path. This kind of act is not always as simple as it looks like especially when decisions are perceived according to particular factors that affect it. The choices that a person made are often influenced by many factors and one of which is the idea of ethics. Ethics is a set of standards that directs an individual on how to act in certain situations. The idea of ethics is often confused with feelings, law, religion, science, and cultural norms. These concepts influenced ethics in one way or another but these are not synonymous with it. Ethical standards are derived from five sources namely: Utilitarian Approach, Rights Approach, Fairness or Justice Approach, Common Good Approach, and Virtue Approach (Santa Clara University, 2007). The Utilitarian Approach emphasizes the idea that ethical action gives greater good and minimal harm. This approach is after the results of particular decisions that it should strived to give more advantageous effects rather than adverse consequences. A good example of this is ethics in corporation that aim to produce more beneficial results for everyone in the company (Santa Clara University, 2007). The Rights Approach is a source of ethical standards that gives high regards in respecting and protecting the moral rights of those people concern. This can be rooted from the idea that the very essence of an individual’s humanity that enables him/her to make decisions for oneself entitled each one of them to a sense of dignity. Based on this dignity, their rights as individuals should be given due importance. These rights also come with its corresponding duties and one of which is to respect the rights of other people as well (Santa Clara University, 2007). The Fairness or Justice Approach is based on the arguments of Aristotle and other Greek philosophers that â€Å"all equals should be treated equally†. Ethical actions should treat individuals equally but if there is inequality then there should be a defensible standard as to such. A corporate environment is a best example of such approach because workers are paid according to their productivity and contribution to the company, which is perceived as fair. However, there is contention when it comes to the CEOs of companies because their salary is many times larger than the others which make such disparity unfair for some (Santa Clara University, 2007). The Common Good Approach gives value in the importance of life. They believe that the very idea of life is good which is why ethical actions should contribute to the well-being of that life. The intermingling of societal relationships as well as the respect and care for others especially the marginalized are emphasized. Furthermore, this approach also highlights the importance of conditions that bring common good (Santa Clara University, 2007). The Virtue Approach is considered as a very ancient way of looking at ethical actions. Certain virtues are to be followed in order to attain the full development of human beings. These virtues are needed in order to reach the full potential of ones character. Questions like â€Å"What kind of person will I become if I do this? † or â€Å"is this action consistent with my acting at my best? † are taken into consideration in this approach (Santa Clara University, 2007). These aforementioned sources of ethics could be applied in the process of decision making especially with the individuals or decision makers that are involved within the process. Decision makers have various motivations and characteristics that affect their choices. There are two types of motivation namely the â€Å"in-order-to motives† and the â€Å"because-of-motives†. The â€Å"in-order-to motives† explains that a decision maker will choose a particular decision in order to accomplish a certain objective (Mingst, 2001). Ethics could highly influence this kind of motivation especially in terms of the Utilitarian, Virtue, and Common Good approaches. The Utilitarian approach is manifested in the â€Å"in-order-to motives† because if an individual will make a decision based on an objective of producing more good rather than harm then it already fulfils an ethical action in the Utilitarian perspective. In terms of the Virtue approach, ethics is seen in the motivation of the decision maker when the choices made are based on an objective that helps the development of an individual towards its full potential. The Common Good approach also asserts ethics because actors are influenced to choose decisions that will bring about the greater good to the most number of people. On the other hand, the â€Å"because-of-motives† arises from the â€Å"unconscious or semiconscious motives or impulses arising out of previous life experience or inner values, interests, or drives of the decision maker† (Mingst, 2001). Ethical action becomes possible in the decisions made by an individual based on the ideas of the Rights Approach and the Fairness or Justice Approach. The Rights Approach exemplified the moral rights of the people that should be respected and protected. These rights motivate the decision maker to make choices that will uphold these values. Similarly, the Fairness or Justice Approach also influences the motive of the decision maker by putting in mind the idea of what is equal from what is not especially if such idea is something that the individual values or has interests on. According to the assumptions of the Decision Making Theory, a rational actor plays a vital role in the decision making wherein that individual is well-aware of the list of available alternatives and capable of calculating each option’s possible results and has the freedom of choice to select the one with the highest preferential value. However, the biographical knowledge of the decision maker has a crucial role in the choices that will be made. Factors such as a person’s educational background, religion, life experiences, mental and physical health as well as other activities could explain the interests and values of the decision maker (Mingst, 2001). An individual decision maker is already influenced by numerous factors that affect its decisions which make decision making for a collective entity of diverse people more complicated. A population would have various and sometimes conflicting interests and basically different decisions. In such case, the important factor for this diverse population to successfully arrive at a most advantageous decision is to acquire consensus. Consensus building is an important factor for the decision making process of a diverse population. Since they have numerous interests and motives they need to be able to arrive at a decision that everybody will benefit from even if it means having to compromise at times. In doing so, they also need an appropriate leader that would collaborate their interests. A democratic form of leadership is a good example of how the process of decision making takes place in a diverse population (Bissessar, 2004). The interests of its citizens are represented through party system as well as by elected political leaders. However, numerous party systems is still not that easy to manage which is why a rational and appropriate leader is still needed that would be able to make sound decisions for its citizens. The decision maker is the most important part of the decision making process. The motives, interests as well as the background of this rational actor are vital in order to understand the choices that are made. Being the case, ethical standards is also one of the factors that influenced these decisions. This also applies in the decision making of diverse population because they need consensus building in order to embody their various and sometimes conflicting interests. In doing so, it also need an appropriate leader that would collaborate their interests and implements the decision.Ethical standards and the other factors that influence the decision maker have a big part in the selection of sound decisions. References Bissessar. A. M. (2004). Globalization and Governance: Essays on the Challenges for Small Countries. North Carolina: McFarland. Santa Clara University. (2007). A Framework for Thinking Ethically. Retrieved 14 May 2008, from http://www. scu. edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework. html. Mingst, K. (2001). Essentials of International Relations. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.

Research Regarding The Board Of Directors Composition Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 20 Words: 5880 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Banks are all similarly confronted with particular regulations and inspections of banking supervisions. Within this topic, the board of directors plays an important role. There are different factors considering how the composition of a board might influence its performance and the decision-making process. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Research Regarding The Board Of Directors Composition Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Therefore, factors like independence, age structure, percentage of minorities and women and the size of the board will be analyzed. After determining the composition, the influence of it on the percentage of equity financing and therefore the risk propensity will be analyzed. Furthermore, the composition will also be linked to performance indicators as Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and the development of stock quotations. 3.1. Corporate Governance The term corporate governance describes processes through which an organization is controlled and directed. Those structures specify which rights and duties certain participants in a company have and how the decision-making process works. This mostly affects the board of directors, the top management team (TMT) as well as shareholders and other stakeholders (OECD, 2005). Corporate governance is concerned with the possible abuse of power of the managers and the need for certain qualities like openness, integrity and accountability during the whole decision-making process. As shown in Figure 3.1, it also examines how certain mechanisms, including incentives, can help to minimize transactions costs that arise in an organization between principals and agents as described in the agency theory below (Mathiesen, 2002). 3.2 Structure of the Board of Directors The members of the board are generally elected by the shareholders and their responsibilities vary with the nature and the complexity of the organization. However, there are two different systems regarding the boards of directors. On the one hand there is the Anglo-Saxon system in countries like the United States and Japan (12Manage: The Executive Fast track, 2008). This consists of a one-tier board structure, where executive and non-executive directors work together in the board of directors (Weimer and Pape, 1999). This single board is usually entirely appointed by the shareholders and the CEO often also holds the board chair (12Manage: The Executive Fast track, 2008). On the other hand, in countries like Germany and the Netherlands, companies have adopted a two-tier board structure. There, the board is divided into the managing board and the supervisory board to formally separate powers (12Manage: The Executive Fast track, 2008). The managing board is monitored and advised in major policies by the supervisory board (Weimer and Pape, 1999). The CEO holds the chair of the managing board, but cannot hold the chair of the supervisory board at the same time (12Manage: The Executive Fast track, 2008). Even though, the board of directors is usually elected by the shareholders, in some cases also employees elect their own representative(s) from the workforce to support their interests on the board. In state-owned banks directors are delegated to the bank by the State Council and in where the board of directors is spitted up into managing board and supervisory board, the managing directors are appointed by the supervisory board members as shown in Figure 3.2. 3.3 Tasks of the Board of Directors In general, directors represent the shareholders interests, because they provide the elementary assets for running a company. Therefore, the main role of the board of directors is to govern an organization while acting for the shareholders in order to protect their assets and to ensure a decent return on their investments (Oss, 2003; Kennon, 2008). The board of directors is the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“highest governing authority within the management structure at any publicly traded companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Kennon, 2008, n.p.). For this reason, the board is in charge of defining the corporate mission, setting the companys objectives and approving the firms strategy concerning the well judged allocation of the financial resources (Oss, 2003). Even though the board holds the total authority for a companys decision making they cannot manage the companys day-to-day operations, because this is the role of the CEO and the TMT (Oss, 2003). The resulting conflict potential is discussed in the Agenc y Theory below. According to Oss (2003) it is the boards task to govern and the CEOs to manage. Therefore, a clarified classification of who is in charge will eliminate these conflicts. Furthermore, another stakeholder group exists, as mentioned in the Stakeholder Theory (see Figure 3.3) with additional interests and requirements for the board of directors. Regarding all players and interest groups in an organization, the responsibilities of the board are possible to be divided into a Governance Role, a Service Role and a Control Role. Beside the strategic decisions, an important task of the board members is to appoint special committees like the Audit and Risk Committee, and to select qualified managers, as well as to help and to support them with their skills and expertise. Finally, the board controls if the management meets the companys objectives concerning ethical tenets or laws (Oss, 2003). 3.5 Related Research regarding Board Composition From the theories and former research, it becomes clear that boards have different tasks. Therefore, an optimal structure or composition of the board is essential for fulfilling the tasks. The main tenor in the literature is that in order to work efficiently boards have to be independent with diversity in backgrounds, gender, race and age. However, a certain composition of the board might also affect how much risk the directors are willing to take. The composition of the board receives more and more attention in terms of structure and stability. If a better structured and more stable board of directors is related to a better firm performance, companies with a well-composed board should perform better than other companies. For the purpose of this paper, a well-composed board is defined as a stable and diverse board composed of a majority of independent members along with a number of women and ethnic minority directors. To build the connection to the topic terms à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚ ¬Å" board composition on the one side and firm performance and risk propensity on the other side à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" it is important to focus on different behavioral patterns which are the result of variations in board compositions. By investigating the influence of the board composition on firm performance and risk propensity it is possible to get insights into how differently composed boards behave regarding specific board tasks. Differently composed boards behave differently in various situations; for example, when they decide whether to replace a poorly performing CEO or when they choose at what price the company should be sold. The boardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s decision is also important when the acquisition of another firm has to be approved or when takeover defenses have to be adopted and employed. Finally, the board plays a big role when it comes to establishing the CEO and executives compensation packages (Bhagat and Black, 1999). 3.5.4 Board Size Board size is seen as one of the most important factors when it comes to the influence on the performance of a company (Kyereboah-Coleman and Biekpe, 2005). The main view regarding board size is that large boards have a negative impact on the performance of the company. That is, because tasks like coordination, decision-making and the communication between the members are more difficult and expensive, the more directors have to be included (Belkhir, 2008). Therefore, the costs would outweigh the gains of having more expertise on the board. Belkhir (2008) cited Jensenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s (1993) statement that boards with more than seven or eight people are less effective and easier to control for the CEO. Earlier research of the board size supports the proposition that smaller boards are better. Yermack (1996) discovered a negative relationship between board size and firm performance measured by Tobinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s Q and several other accounting figures. In their sample of small Finnish firms, Eisenberg et al. (1998) also find a negative relationship between the number of directors and financial success of the company. Furthermore, Kyereboah-Coleman and Biekpe (2005) determined that large board sizes are bad for the sales and growth ratio of companies in Ghana. However, Belkhir (2008) found a non-negative relationship between the size of the board of directors and the firm performance measured by Tobinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s Q, as well as, by return on assets (ROA) for financial institutions. Especially savings-and-loan holding companies (SLHC) might increase the value of the company with a rising number of directors. Therefore, the next hypothesis is that: H4a: An increasing board size has no negative influence on the company performance. When it comes to taking risks, there is not as much empirical evidence. However, if one looks at the decision-making process of a board, especially when its number of directors is very high, the obvious assumption is that for risky decsions it is more difficult to get a consensus the more people have to vote for it. Furthermore, Pfeffer and Salancick (1978) and Lipton and Lorsch (1992) determined a relationship between the capital structure of a company and its board size. Additionally, a study of Abor and Biepke (2005) discovered that an increasing board size and the debt level of Ghanaian SME are negatively related. Thus, the authors assume that: H4b: The board size is negatively related to the risk propensity of the company. 3.5.5 Board Independence You can distinguish between inside directors (current officers of the company) affiliated outsiders (former company officers, and persons who have business relationships with the company) and independent directors (Bhagat and Black, 1999, p. 4). Independent board members (outside directors) are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“not associated with or employed by the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Kennon, 2008, n.p.). According to Kennon, in the United States at least fifty percent of the directors must meet the requirements of independence. A board with fifty percent of independent directors is called a majority-independent board (Bhagat and Black, 1999, p. 4). The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 places a strong emphasis on the independence of directors. Brown et al. (2004) confirmed this requirement with positive results in their study on the effects of the independence of the board members on financial firm performance data. They found that independent boards have higher return on equ ity (ROE) and profit margins. Furthermore, it is determined that outside directors can monitor the management more effectively than insiders (Bonn, Yoshikawa, and Phan, 2004). Therefore, the conclusion of several empirical studies is that, besides a more diverse board, a more independent board has a positive effect on the financial performance (see also Adams and Mehran, 2008). But, boards with majority-independent directors have both positive and negative effects. On the one hand, inside directors are more involved in the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s operations and might know the business better than outsiders. On the other hand, outside directors might keep cool and act in a more objective way than insiders. Besides that, several studies did not find significant evidence that a higher number of independent directors within the board is related to the quality of financial reporting, or to the likelihood of firm failure. Additionally, there is no evidence of more firm-level diversific ation or a connection to research and development spending (Bhagat and Black, 1999). Therefore, Bhagat and Black (1999) recommend that it might be valuable for companies to compose their boards with at least a moderate number of inside directors. This is supported by their results that there is a negative relationship between the degree of board independence and firm performance. However, different firms need different types of boards and an optimal board contains a combination of inside, affiliated and independent directors who bring different skills and knowledge to the board (Bhagat and Black, 1999, pp. 32-33). Along with the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s objectives and shareholder interests, boards of banks additionally bear micro- and macro-economic responsibilities, which can be positively influenced by the optimal composition of the board. For board members of financial institutions, a cooperative board-CEO relationship is elementary. Only when the board gets the complete inform ation about the operating business processes from the CEO, can they make the right decisions for the company. For this reason, it is important to know if inside or outside directors can deal better with the CEO or TMT and generate a higher performance. The writers therefore hypothesize for the banking sector, that: H5a: A higher number of outside directors does not influence firm performance. Pfeffer and Salancik (1978) developed the Resource Dependency Theory and determined that a number of outside directors upgrade a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s ability to protect itself against outside influences and reduce the uncertainty level. Furthermore, they stated that outsiders might help the company retain a certain status and raise funds. Thus, a higher number of outside directors on the board should increase the debt level of the company. On top of that, independent directors might act more in the shareholders interests than inside directors (Bonn, Yoshikawa, and Phan, 2004), and for this reason we hypothesize: H5b: A higher number of outside directors will be positively connected to the risk propensity of the company. 3.6 Summary of the Hypotheses In table 3.1. below, all hypotheses are presented at one glance. These propositions have been derived from past studies and behavioral theories as presented above. Table 3.1 Hypotheses Composition Company Performance Risk Propensity Gender Diversity H1a: A higher percentage of women on the board of direc-tors has a positive influence on firm performance. H1b: A higher percentage of women on the board is nega-tively connected to the risk pro-pensity of the company. Average Age of Directors H2a: The average age of the board of directors is nega-tively connected with firm performance. H2b: The average age of the board is positively connected to risk avoidance of the company. Ethnic Diversity H3a: A higher number of minority directors on the board is positively related to company performance. H3b: Minority directors do not affect the risk propensity of the company. Board Size H4a: Increasing board size has no negative influence on the company performance. H4b: The board size is nega-tively related to the risk pro-pensity of the company. Board indepen-dence H5a: A higher number of outside directors does not in-fluence firm performance. H5b: A higher number of outside directors is positively related to the risk propensity of the company. 4. Empirical Study 4.1 Research Methodology 4.1.1 Sample In this empirical research the top 50 banks in the world according to Bankersalmanac.com4 were investigated. The banks were ranked according to their total assets as of June 30, 2008. For the data collection, there was a time span of three years, from 2005 to 2007. This particular group of banks has been chosen, because of their size and international branches. The reasons for choosing the largest banks from all around the world were to have a comparable size of international business when comparing them. If the banks had only been from one or two countries the differences in size would have been significant and the developments on the financial market would have probably only affected the bigger banks. This might have had an effect on the performance. Thuse, for 2007 the results could have possibly been very inconsistent. Regarding the chosen sample, it can be assured that the international situation has affected them all à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" some banks more than oth ers, depending on how risky their business operations were. That results in a possible interpretation on how each bank, with managers and board directors, has dealt with the problems and obstacles. 4.1.2 Data Collection Method The necessary data for this study were collected from the annual reports of the 50 financial institutions. The data about the board of directors were found in the corporate governance section of the reports. Data about the company performance were gathered from the consolidated income statements and balance sheets of the banks. The data were usually dated the 31st December of the year. However, some bans adopted a fiscal year ending on March 31, or September 30 of the year. Then, we considered the Annual Reports from March 31, 2008 as belonging to 2007 as well as the Annual Reports from September 30, 2007. This way, it could be assured that the figures were all derived during the similar time period. Furthermore, the main capital ratios, necessary for th e risk propensity were taken from the section risk management. However, there are no strict regulations on how companies have to structure their annual reports. Therefore, the relevant data of some financial institutions was found in different parts of the annual reports or on the websites of the companies. 4.2 Operationalization The research data were collected in an Excel sheet for further calculations and preparation purposes with regard to the statistical analysis using the statistics program SPSS. During the research process the researchers also used a complementary list to record secondary and supportive information needed to calculate the total numbers for the primary Excel list. 4.2.1 Board Composition Data The five board composition variables were selected by the authors and the corresponding information about those data were collected as presented in the following paragraphs. 4.2.1.1 Board Size The board size was recorded by counting the members and listing their names. This was done for all three years to find out if there were any changes in the board composition from one year to another. The changes were recorded in the complementary lists. The total number of board members for each bank and each of the three years were transferred to the primary Excel sheet. 4.2.1.3 Independent Directors Next, the authors looked at the percentage of independent directors. The financial institutions usually indicated in the annual reports or on their homepage which members of the board were independent. However, sometimes it was not explicitly alluded neither in the annual report nor on the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s website. Then, the researchers decided if a director was independent or not using an own definition described above. The authors examined if s/he has any other connection to the company beyond the board activities; for instance if him/her is or was employed by the bank in the last years or bears executive tasks. If there was no connection (excluding shareholding) at all, s/he was defined as independent director. The share ownership of directors was excluded, because at some banks each director is obliged to hold at least a small number of shares. The sum of all independent directors of each bank was copied to the list and divided by the total number of members. 4.2.2 Company Performance Indicators To investigate the influence of the board composition on the firm performance the authors chose four performance measures divided into two categories: operating performance and shareholder payout. The three most important financial indicators are the performance measures Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and the Efficiency Rate (CIR). Besides this, the researchers also looked at the share performances compared to previous years. These are all common indicators, which are important for shareholders. Furthermore, they are well comparable to the results previous studies in other industry branches showed using the same indicators. To control for the possibility that the performance indictors will be connected to the size of the bank, total assets were also recorded and will be included in the correlation tables and regression models. 4.2.2.1 Return on Assets The accounting measure of a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s profitability, Return on Assets (ROA), indicates net income from all of the bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s operations relative to the average book value of all assets (Carter, DSouza, Simkins, Simpson, 2007, p. 15). It shows how beneficial assets are used by management to create earnings for the company. This means that it is possible to see how much profit was derived from invested assets (Investopedia, Definitions, 2008). It is calculated as: ROA= Net Income/ Avg. Total Assets 4.3 Credibility of the Research Data 4.3.1 Reliability Reliability is concerned with the question if the data that were collected by the researchers would be consistent with the findings other researchers would have using the same sources (Saunders et al., 2007). The most data were collected by the authors in a quantitative but diligent manner from the published and certified annual reports of the banks. Due to this fact, the research data cannot be interpreted wrong by the researchers and therefore have a high reliability. However, when it comes to the board composition data about women, minorities and independent directors, the authors had to interpret by using pictures or curriculum vitae of the directors. The gender of the board members is usually recognizable when using pictures. Thus, it is clear and should not be inconsistent when other researchers collect these data. A little more difficult is the question about minorities. For that part, the biographies have to be considered, especially, when it comes to q uestions about backgrounds and where the people grew up. This fact can lead to different interpretations depending on who collects the data. However, the definitions on ethnic minorities were made clear in the theoretical part and thus, the results should be very consistent. When deciding about the independence of the directors, there are two factors to consider. First, when the banks noted if the directors were independent, this was just copied for the research. These data are very reliable, because there is no space for interpretation. However, if it was not indicted and the biographies of the directors were read and the decisions about the independence were basically made after reading the professional background. Therefore, other researchers could have a different opinion about directorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ independence. To summarize, most of the data are very reliable, because they are published and just have to be copied. Only for factors, that the authors had to interpret, it c ould come to inconsistencies, which should be very limited though, because the data collection was done very diligently and clearly set definitions have been used. 4.3.2 Validity Validity of data is concerned with the question if the findings are what they appear to be. The researcher has to find out if the variables really have a causal relationship (Saunders et al., 2007, p.150). In this study, it was made clear through the theoretical background that board composition and company performance, as well as, risk propensity influence each other. This is mainly secured by the fact that the board of directors makes decisions which are intended to influence the financial results. However, to make sure that the relations between the board and firm performance and risk propensity are not accidental, four performance measures and two risk measures that were studied. A problem could arise, if the results are inconsistent. If that was the case, the contradicting results have to be inte rpreted and explained. 4.3.3 Generalisability The aim of this research study was to be able to generalize the results, which means to be able to apply the results to other settings (Saunders et al., 2007). Other settings could be for example a different group of banks or maybe other companies located in the same countries and also have international operations. For this reason, the quantitative research method was applied. To get reliable and valid results the authors collected almost 150 data sets by investigating 50 banks over three years. The number of banks was not selected by the authors but provided by a public resource which registered the 50 largest banks as measured by their total assets as of June 30, 2008. This amount of research data and the fact, that the sample includes banks situated on three continents in many different countries, allows the authors to generalize the findings. 5. Analysis 5.1 General Findings The sample of fifty banks consists of the largest financial institutions from North America, Europe and Asia. The biggest group are the European banks. One bank from the sample had to be excluded because its structure differed too much from the other banks and did not fit to the research questions. It was a state-owned bank which was controlled by politicians to a large percentage. Furthermore, for the year 2005, one more bank had to be left out, because it was just created in 2006 by a merger of two smaller banks. To be able to compare the banks, all performance indicators that were stated in different currencies have been converted into Euros with the currency rate of December 31 of each year.6 In table 5.1 general statistical values of the variables are listed. A value that was controlled for in the research was total assets. This was important for detecting if the board size or any of the other independent variables changed with the size of the bank. However, there is no sig nificant relationship between the total assets and the size of the board (see table 5.2). Therefore, it is possible to say, that banks do not decide about the number of directors based on their size measured by total assets. It is rather noticeable that banks with a two-tier board system have larger boards than the other banks. The maximum number of directors came up to 48, when adding up the number of directors in the supervisory and the managing board compared to a minimum of seven board members in a one-tier system board of directors. Table 5.1 Descriptive Statistics years 2005-2007 Samples Minimum Maximum Mean Median Std. Deviation Total Assets (Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬) 146 168,119 2,579,194 732,994 557,269 415,293 Board Size 146 7 48 18.36 17.00 6.92 Board Age (years) 142 49.1 64.70 57.32 57.74 3.44 Women (%) 146 0.00 42.90 10.02 6.8 9.32 Minorities (%) 146 0.00 41.20 3.73 0.00 7.79 Independent Directors (%) 146 0.00 94.10 49.15 50.00 28.80 Share Development cp. to Previous Year (%) 100 -44.75 106.67 14.61 16.90 27.52 ROE (%) 146 -37.90 37.50 14.56 15.35 8.60 ROA (%) 146 -0.30 1.75 0.65 0.59 0.40 Cost/Income Ratio (%) 125 34.70 114.00 58.89 56.00 13.07 Debt-Ratio (%) 146 87.73 98.54 95.31 95.95 2.19 B.I.S Capital (%) 135 8.5 19.70 11.79 11.60 1.72 5.2 Interdependency between the Independent Variables Before checking for the influence of the board composition on performance and risk propensity, the interdependency of the independent variables was evaluated in table 5.2. It is noticeable that many of the factors correlate with each other within the one percent significance level. The strongest correlation exists between the variables board age and percentage of independent directors. It shows that the higher the average age of the directors is the more independent directors are on the board. This leads to the conclusion that outside board members are usually older than executive directors. Another strong significant relationship is shown between the variables board age and board size. This correlation is negative and implies that the average age of the directors decreases when the number of board members increases. The reason for this link could be that the younger board members are introduced into the tasks before the older directors retire. One more noticeable factor is t hat the percentage of women on the board is positively correlated with the percentage of minorities on the board. This supports the results of Carter et al. in 2002. Furthermore, independent directors correlate significantly positively with women and minorities, which supports the conclusion that female and minority directors usually seem to be outsiders to the bank. An interesting fact is also that minority directors usually seem to be of more importance in smaller boards. The correlation between the board size and the percentage of minorities is slightly negative, which indicates that smaller boards have a higher percentage of ethnic minority directors. Furthermore, it is interesting that the boards of directors of banks do not significantly correlate with their total assets, as mentioned before. However, the board age has a very significant positive correlation with the assets. This implies that larger banks usually have an older board of directors. Besides, those banks also s eem to have a slightly higher percentage of independent outside directors as shown by the positive correlation between these two factors. With the high interdependencies between the independent variables, it could come to multicollinearity problems in the regression analyses for the dependent performance and risk indicators. Fortunately, this is not the case as shown by the VIF-values, which are lower than 2.5, in the regression models below. Table 5.2 Correlations between Independent Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Total Assets a 1 2 Board Size a -.113 1 3 Board Age a .308*** -.403*** 1 4 Women (%) a -.052 .037 -.026 1 5 Minorities (%) a .098 -.176** .254*** .267*** 1 6 Indep. Directors (%) a .208** -.114 .465*** .369*** .308*** 1 *** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) ** Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) a Pearson correlation coefficient 5.3 Influence of Board Composition on Performance Data At the beginning, the correlations of the data from all three years were evaluated together to get a general overview over the connections made between the independent and dependent variables. 5.3.1 Return on Assets When regarding the influence of the board composition on the first performance indicator it is very obvious that ROA is connected to all variables, except for total assets (see table 5.3). The strongest positive correlation exists between the variables return on assets and percentage of independent directors, followed by minorities. A little weaker connection is shown with the percentage of female directors and the board age. The linkages indicate that outsiders or a more divers and experienced board (concerning average age) will be positive for the financial institution. The only slightly negative significant correlation exists with the size of the board. This means, when the number of directors increases the return on assets decreases. It leads to the assumption that an extra board member will raise the costs of the bank more than the expertise will help to generate more revenue. Table 5.3 Correlations between ROA and Board Composition Women Board Age Minorities Board Size Independent Directors Total Assets ROAa .330*** .394*** .426*** -.192** .441*** -.074 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .020 .000 .378 *** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) ** Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) a Pearson correlation coefficient The regression model for return on assets as dependent variable shows that about 37 percent of changes in ROA can be explained by modifications in the board composition variables and by total assets (see table 5.4). This is an acceptable value, especially considering the complex environments banks are in and how many other factors also influence the performance of financial institutions. The regression model shows that regarding return on assets the size of the board has the least influence out of all board composition factors and is not of any significance in this case, even though the correlation between the size of the board and ROA is significant. Board age and the percentage of minorities, on the other hand, are the most important variables in this model. Table 5.4 ROA Regression Model Dependent Variable: ROA Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. Collinearity Statistics B Std. Error Beta Tolerance VIF (Constant) -1.338** .575 -2.328 .021 Women .008** .003 .187 2.459 .015 .779 1.283 Board Age .035*** .010 .301 3.514 .001 .611 1.637 Minorities .013*** .004 .251 3.435 .001 .841 1.189 Board Size -.004 .004 -.074 -1.004 .317 .825 1.212 Independent Directors .002** .001 .167 1.992 .048 .636 1.574 Total Assets -2.274E-7*** .000 -.238 -3.359 .001 .894 1.118 Adjusted R2 .368 F-Value 14.658*** *** Factor is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) ** Factor is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) 5.3.5 Results of this Analysis The outcome of this analysis supports the hypotheses H1a and H3a, which state that female and minority directors have a positive influence on the firm performance, but rejects the hypotheses H2a and H5a. Contrary to the hypothesis H2a, where the authors assumed a negative relation between the average age of the board members and the company performance measured by the data ROA and ROE, a positive connection was found. Similarly, this analysis implies a positive connection regarding independent directors against the assumed non-relation (H5a). Since the significance and, thus, the influence of the board composition data on the measures ROA and ROE is considerably higher than on the measure share performance, this slightly negative connection cannot result in a support of hypot heses H2a and H5a. Furthermore, hypothesis H4a can be rejected too because an increasing board size does actually influence the firm performance. All financial measures (ROA, ROE, and CIR) affirm a negative effect of a larger board. Consequently, an increased number of directors does only produce higher costs which do not result in higher returns. Table 5.11 summarizes the results: Table 5.11 Summary of Correlations with Performance Indicators Composition Firm Performance Hypotheses Correlations Gender Diversity H1a: A higher percentage of women on the board of direc-tors has a positive influence on firm performance. ROA: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  ROE: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  CIR: Share Performance: Average Age of Directors H2a: The average age of the board of directors is negatively connected with firm perfor-mance. ROA: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  ROE: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  CIR: Share Performance:à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ®Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ®Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ® Ethnic Diversity H3a: A higher number of minority directors on the board is positively related to com-pany performance. ROA: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  ROE: CIR: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ®Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ®Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Share Performance: Board Size H4a: Increasing board size has no negative influence on the company performance. ROA: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ®Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ®Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  ROE: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ®Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  CIR: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Share Performance: Board independence H5a: A higher number of outside directors does not in-fluence firm performance. ROA: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  ROE: à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  CIR: Share Performance: 6. Conclusion 6.1 Summary and Practical Relevance The focus of this dissertation was on the board of directors in financial institutions. More precisely, five board composition factors and their influence on a) the company performance and b) the risk propensity of the board were investigated. The five board composition factors are 1) the percentage of women, 2) the average age of all board members, 3) the percentage of minority directors, 4) the size of the board, and 5) the percentage of independent directors. The result of this dissertation demonstrates that the composition of the board of directors does influence the performance of financial institutions and the risk propensity of the board. The quantity of the sample also allows to generalize the outcomes of the research. Thus, directors, shareholders, and employees of banks could start analyzing the compositions of their board with the goal to generate higher returns and to avoid hazardous risks in the bankà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s operational business. However, before they can start with the evaluation, they first need an answer on the question: à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ § How does the composition of the board of directors influence the performance of the company? Certainly, the composition of the board should have a positive influence on the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s performance. The result of the authorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ first research is, that female directors, minority directors, and independent outside directors influence the firm performance positively. The general findings also support the assumption that a smaller but matured board (age-wise) affects the performance of the company in a positive way. Consequently, a more diverse board with more experienced directors can profit from a broad range of ideas, skills and long lasting professional experiences which in total can generate more income. Nevertheless, everyone has to keep in mind: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Too many cooks spoil the brothà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, which means that boards with a large number of members rather produce more costs and disagreements than more returns.7 When it comes to the influence of the board composition on the companys risk propensity, a second question needs to be answered to the group which is responsible to select the board members: à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ §Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  How does the composition of the board of directors influence the risk propensity of the company? Since the financial crisis started in the year 2007 it has become even more important for banksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ directors to avoid risks which are out of proportion. For this reason, it is important to know which composition of the board rather avoids risks. The result of the authorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ second research is that matured boards with more minority directors and independent outside directors take less risk. The gender diversity as well as the size of the board do not affect the risk level. Consequently, younger and inside board members rather influence the risk propensity of the board. To conclude, in financia l institutions an ideal composed board of directors generates more income while avoiding hazardous operational risks. According to the authorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ findings, such an ideal board is composed of a clearly arranged mixture of matured inside and outside directors, male and female directors, as well as, directors with different ethnical backgrounds. Consequently, gender diversity and ethnical diversity add value. A smaller board size saves costs. And a small board with a higher number of matured directors can balance the amount of experience a larger but younger board would have. However, as the analysis also showed, there are differences regarding the board composition between the continents, which are usually related to cultural backgrounds and different traditions. Thus, the board composition and its influence on the performance will vary between countries and continents. Furthermore, as also demonstrated in the analysis, during unstable times as the financial crisis that started in 2007 and affected many banks and economies around the world, there is no specific board composition that can manage such times exceptionally well.