Essay on Games in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Games in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Many games are involved in the plot of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Green Knight, Bercilak de Hautdesert, plays a Christmas game with Arthurs court at Camelot (line 283); Gawains hosts wife plays games with Gawain throughout the third section of the poem; Gawains sees his arrangement of mutual trade with his host as a game (line 1380); and all of the events of the story are revealed as a game of Arthurs sister, Morgan Le Fay (lines 2456-2466). Throughout the telling of the story, the author plays a mental game with the reader or listener, as well. The Christmas game that the Green Knight comes to play with Arthurs court at the instigation of Morgan Le Fay†¦show more content†¦Bercilak, Gawains host, hides from Gawain the fact that he is the Green Knight from Arthurs castle, and Gawain sees this arrangement -- the of mutual exchange of things won over the course of the day -- as a game, although the host also describes this arrangement as a covenant. (line 1384) The hosts wife also plays games with Gawain throughout the course of this three-day game that Gawain plays with his host. The nature of the hunt that the host undertakes each day of the three parallels his wifes attempts to seduce Gawain, as well, although on both of the first two days there is an inversion. (Hunting is also a recreational activity comparable to a game.) On the first day, the host hunts and slays a doe, an act which, to medieval readers, would have been symbolic of a mans sexual conquest of a woman. The inversion here comes from the fact that Bercilaks wife fails to seduce Gawain -- Bercilak kills his doe, but his wife is unsuccessful in her attempted seduction -- and from the fact that the woman is here portrayed as the hunter. On the second day, Bercilak hunts a boar -- symbol of the carnal nature -- which, in Christian terms, is symbolic of the overcoming of the passions. The inversion here comes again from the fact that the female is portrayed as the hunter and, as before, from the fact that Gawain is forced to play a role seen as female: He must fend off the advances of his host. S everal times throughout his attemptedShow MoreRelatedA Comparison Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight808 Words   |  4 PagesBrit Lit Essay I: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight As an avid recreational reader I enjoy reading books of all types, however, one of my favorite genres is fantasy. 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Corruption Of Language - 1066 Words

Informative essays like George Orwell’s â€Å"Politics and the English Language† use similes, diction, and dichotomies to inform an audience. I modeled these devices and format in my essay that analyzes the different forms of writing by examining people’s opinion on the corruption of language. The purpose of my essay is to analyze whether corruption of language truly exists. I exchanged Orwell’s views on the degradation of language and the influence of politics with the expansion of the American English language and the influence of cultural changes. My nonconventional essay uses very modern diction while expanding on the main idea of linguistic evolutionary changes, the format helps to create and build a main idea while including examples,†¦show more content†¦We shaped our language for the purpose of fitting in with trends and popular topics and ideas. In modern time, we have technology and social media to influence our language that did not ex ist 15 years ago. With the concept of our declining language, we must discuss the effects, which cannot be simply blamed on one source. The language keeps declining as a result of the new generations forming words to fit their ideas. So the language is in perpetual criticism as it evolves to communicate the feelings and ideas of a the younger generation. The next few words and definitions have been selected to illustrate some of the new languages and old languages. These are not particularly popular or unpopular examples just demonstrating the change over time. 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Malaysia-Singapore Raltions Free Essays

ABSTRACT Malaysia and Singapore have a unique and special relation due to the geography, ideology history, culture, , economy, politics and ethnicity factors. Even though with the unique and special factors, its sometimes create tensions between both countries. However, it is said that the relations between both countries have evolved from an inherently unstable into a more mature and positive relationship. We will write a custom essay sample on Malaysia-Singapore Raltions or any similar topic only for you Order Now This paper will be discussing the current major conflict issue which distressing relationship between both countries and also the resolve issue. This paper also will analyse the relationship during various Prime Minister and their foreign policy towards each other’s. Finally it will discuss why the relationship becomes warmer and the factor that influence the positive relationship. INTRODUCTION Singapore merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. However, this political union proved to be short-lived as Singapore was ousted from the Federation in 1965 due to political and ethnic differences. This failed political union, and the resulting stigma of separation has continued to cast a shadow over Singapore-Malaysia’s bilateral ties. Furthermore, due to the geographical proximity between these two states, bilateral problems are prone to exaggeration by both sides, often a case of â€Å"virtuous self and the stereotypical other†. Malaysia and Singapore relations are unique and special due to factors such as geography, history, politics, ideology, economy, culture and ethnicity. These factors sometimes have created tensions between both countries. The uniqueness of the relationship is reflected by the various terms used to describe the state of rivalry between the two countries such as â€Å"Siamese twins†, â€Å"sibling rivalry† or â€Å"family quarrel†, suggesting a complex love-hate relationship that has grown out of a shared common history and cultural background, coloured by political differences and, ironically, by economic competition and interdependency. DISPUTES AND SOLUTIONS KERETAPI TANAH MELAYU (KTM) – In 1990, Malaysia and Singapore had signed an agreement concerning Tanjong Pagar railway station. Malaysia had agreed to relocate the station to Bukit Timah to allowed development of the land that located in the premium area. On 24 May 2010, a meeting between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore resolved the relocation issue. They announced that Malaysia’s national railway company Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTM) will be move out from Tanjong Pagar railway station and establish a station at the Woodlands Train Checkpoint (WTCP) by 1 July 2011. Malaysia also will relocate its customs, immigration and quarantine facilities from Tanjong Pagar to the WTCP to ensure the systematic and integrated border crossing facility between Malaysia and Singapore . A joint holding company (60 % Malaysia ownership, 40 % Singapore) will then develop the abandoned KTM properties. WATER SUPPLY – Malaysia provides Singapore with about half its water. On 1 September 1961, the Federation of Malaya signed an agreement giving Singapore the right to draw up to 86 million imperial gallons (390,000 m3) of water per day with effect through 2011. On 29 September 1962, a further agreement was signed providing Singapore the right to draw up to 250 million imperial gallons (1,100,000 m3) per day from the Johore River, with effect through 2061. Both agreements stipulated the price of RM 0. 03 per 1,000 gallons. In turn, the Johor Government pays Singapore RM 0. 50 for every 1000 gallons of treated water. On 31 August 2011, the 1961 water agreement expired and the waterworks and facilities were handed over to the Johor state government. The handover included the Skudai and Gunung Pulai water treatment plants, which were built and managed by Public Utilities Board (PUB) for 50 years, as well as two pump houses in Pontian and Tebrau . JOHOR-SINGAPORE CAUSEWAY- The state of Johor currently already has developed ports including Pasir Gudang and Tanjong Pelapas. Under the former Mahathir administration, the Malaysian government scheduled to build a new customs, immigration and quarantine complex on a hilltop near the Johor Bahru railway station. A bridge is planned to link the new customs complex with the city square. The proposals on replacing the old causeway with a new bridge have resulted in a political rift between the two countries since the early 2000s. Singapore has hinted that it might agree to a bridge if its air force is allowed to use part of Johor’s airspace. Malaysia refused the offer and negotiation is said to be still on going. In September 2003, Malaysia first announced its intention to replace its half of the Causeway with a new bridge. On 5 January 2004, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Prof Jayakumar commented that it did not make sense for Singapore to replace its half of the bridge with a new bridge, as it would cost, along with revisions to customs, immigration and quarantine facilities, more than $500 million. On 2 February 2004, Malaysia said it would present Singapore with a new design for the proposed bridge to replace the Causeway, as Malaysia is still interested in building the new bridge. However, in September 2004, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi announced that Malaysia would defer the half-bridge project as part of its effort to pare down its huge fiscal deficit by deferring big ticket projects. In April 2006, Abdullah Badawi announced that Malaysia would drop the half-bridge project altogether. PEDRA BRANCA (PULAU BATU PUTIH) – On 21 December 1979 Malaysia published a new map which showed the island to be within its territorial waters. This ignited a 29-year territorial dispute which, together with the issue of sovereignty over the nearby maritime features of Middle Rocks and South Ledge, this disputes was presented to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for resolution. On 23 May 2008 the ICJ ruled that Pedra Branca is under Singapore’s sovereignty. THE CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND (CPF) issue has still not been resolved after many years. It is hoped that the Malaysian Government will pursue the long standing issue pertaining to the dilemma of Malaysians who have left the republic for more than a decade and are still unable to withdraw their CPF savings. Under the present CPF withdrawal regulations, Malaysians from Peninsular Malaysia are only able to withdraw their CPF savings at the age of 50 if they have not been working in the republic for the last two years. The CPF law on withdrawal seems to discriminate against Malaysians from Peninsular Malaysia as other foreigners, including Malaysians from Sabah and Sarawak, are allowed full withdrawal of their CPF savings when they leave Singapore. Land Reclamations Issue – Singapore had extensively conducted the land reclamation activity within its territorial water. Plans for the Tekong reclamation project were made publicly available since 1991, and for the Tuas project, since 2001. Until January 2002 there is no objection from neighbouring country. However in 2002 Malaysia had objected the activity. After that, Malaysia embarked on two legal tracks to stop Singapore’s land reclamation works. First, on 4 July 2003, Malaysia served notice to Singapore that it wanted arbitration to decide whether Singapore has the right to reclaim the land off Tuas and Pulau Tekong. This arbitration tribunal, comprising five members agreed on by both sides, was formed on 9 Oct 2003. Then, on 5 September 2003 Malaysia applied separately to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for an order on provisional measures, seeking to put an immediate stop to Singapore’s reclamation works pending the setting up of the arbitration panel. The hearing took place between 25 and 27 Sep 03 in Hamburg, Germany. On 8 Oct 2003, ITLOS unanimously decided that Singapore could continue its land reclamation activities. In April 2005, Singapore and Malaysia formally ended the reclamation dispute by signing a settlement agreement. FACTORS AFFECTING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE Looking at the leadership style of both Prime Minister after the independent of Singapore, there is a high and low relationship which creating the foreign policy towards both countries. We can observed during the Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak and also Tun Hussein Onn, the relationship is calm and interdependent towards each other. During this era also, Mr Lee Kuan Yew as the Prime Minister His leadership style have a strong influence in the manner of bilateral issue between both countries. He is serious in dealing with the issue and also influence by his past experience and the pre and post separation political baggage. To show the difficulties in the relationship, Singapore first Deputy Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong says: â€Å" its relationship with Malaysia is one of its important and complex foreign relation† And Tun Mahathir also had a remark that saying: it’s impossible to be friendly with Singapore because of the neighbouring city states unfriendliness towards Malaysia. Singapore gets into that kind of mood that they reject anything that comes from Malaysia. We try to be friendly as possible but it’s impossible† Relations with Singapore under Mahathir’s tenure have been stormy. Many disputed issues raised during his administration have not been resolved. Many of the se international issues have been raised up under Mahathir’s Premiership term, but no significant headway had been made then to resolve them bilaterally. Both sides had stubbornly refused to compromise, with the result of bilateral relations turning frosty. Tun Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi became the fifth Prime Minister in 2003 and he was Dr Mahathir’s choice. Since Abdullah Badawi took over, bilateral relations between Singapore and Malaysia have undergone a sea change. Part of it was due to Abdullah warm personality, non-confrontational, consensus-seeking characters and sincere attempts to improve ties together with his policy are to give in to almost every request, and relations have begun to thaw. And this was reciprocated by Singapore leaders, as reflected in the flow of many senior Singaporean leaders to the funeral of Datin Seri Endon, Mr Abdullah’s latewife – which certainly went beyond the call of protocol. During Pak Lah era, few discussion has been made such as the causeway issue, air space issue and also the KTM land in Tanjong Pagar. They are trying to resolve the issue through the win-win situation. When Dato’ Seri Najib taking over the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the relationship is grow warming. The effort of Najib in clearing major bilateral issue concerning both countries make that relation becoming more mature and good. Since the effort of clearing the implementation of the point of agreement (POA) which had been negotiated and agreed upon in 1990 which involved the KTM land in Tanjung Pagar that cleared in 2010, more bilateral relationship and opportunities is open. WARMING TIES BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE There is several issue and factors that make the relationship between Malaysia Nad Singapore becoming warmer. The economic factor is one of the most important relations and always had a high degree of inter dependence. Malaysia and Singapore have been each other’s main trading partners for many years. Data from Malaysia’s Department of Statistics, for instance, show that bilateral trade between Malaysia and Singapore was valued at RM175. 5bil last year, up from RM161. 7bil in 2011. Malaysia remains Singapore’s largest trading partner, while Singapore is Malaysia’s second largest trading partner after China. Malaysia and Singapore economic interdependence is just not reflected in the bilateral trade only, it also involving the investment in both countries. From the data tabled by the Malays Malaysian Industrial Development Authority show that Singapore remains one of the top investors in the country, with total value of approved projects standing at RM2. 2bil last year, down slightly from RMRM2. 5bil in 2011 because of the global economic weakness. Singapore’s investments in Malaysia are mainly concentrated in the manufacturing sector. Recently, the development of Iskandar had attracted the Singapore investors and that had make their investor is the largest single group of investor there which accounting about 17% of the total money invested there. In the other sides, Malaysia investors also actively invested in Singapore. It had been showed with involvement Malaysian company like YTL Corp, SP Setia and Selangor Dredging in real estate business, Maybank in financial sector, Axiata Group in telecommunication and also Genting Berhad in the leisure and hospitality sector. The government investment arm from both country namely Khazanah from Malaysia and Temasek from Singapore also had form a joint venture in developing the commercial land parcels in Singapore such as Marina South and Ophir-Ophir . In Iskandar they are also establishing the joint venture company to invest in two wellness related project with a gross development value of RM 3b. To increase connectivity between both countries, few projects has been agreed and initiated. The extension of MRT from Singapore to Johore Bharu is planned to be built to reduce the traffic congestion in both entrance in Singapore and Malaysia. The High Speed Train from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore also planned to reduce travel time to 90 minutes. This infrastructure development also will increase the economic development in the area. In security and defence matters, both states share a serious concern over the emergence of JI in the region. They have coordinated on police work and intelligence sharing, and even synchronized the initial arrests of JI members in December 2001. JI members were imprisoned in both countries under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which both Malaysia and Singapore patterned after the British law that allows for detention without trial for up to two years for supposedly dangerous suspects. Also, both countries have put pressure on Indonesia to take a more active role in confronting the terrorism problem. In the military, several bilateral exercise and operation is conducted to reduce the crime in Straits of Malacca, Eyes in The Sky Operation is jointly conducted to scout the strait for pirates. The flights are undertaken by crews with nationals from the different countries so they can better share information. Intelligence gathered on pirates is also disseminated among governments, including on a Web-based network for quick and easy access. These actions, taken together, made it far more costly and difficult for the pirates to operate. Both military forces also involve in the Five Power Defence Arrangement that are a series of defence relationships established by a series of bilateral agreements between the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore signed in 1971, whereby the five states will consult each other in the event of external aggression or threat of attack against Peninsular Malaysia (East Malaysia is not included as part of the area of responsibilities under the FPDA) or Singapore. FACTORS THAT MAKES THE RELATIONSHIP GROWING TIES The first factor is the leadership role and function. With the new eneration of leader ship which is the second generation of previous leader, Najib is son of Tun Abd Razak and Lee Hsien Loong is son of Lee Kuan Yew, they are trying actively to resolve the bilateral issue of both countries. With the new generation thinking they realised the interdependence both country each many matters. The second factor economic interdependence which shows that both countr y are main trading partner each other. Malaysia also inviting the investors from Singapore to invest in the economic development project initiate in many region in Malaysia such as IRDA, ECER and also NCER. The encouragement by both governments through their public and private sector to collaborate with their counterpart shows there relationship will going stronger. The third factor is massive people to people contact which encouraging tourist from both countries visiting each other will develop this contact. This will created necessary goodwill and tolerance among others. This also had been expanded through sport activity which we can see that the football team from both countries is participating in the league. CONCLUSION We can conclude that due to their historical, cultural linkages and their geographical proximity Malaysia and Singapore had enjoyed and share a special relationship. The issue and challenge between each other had brought a god point for both countries to sit down and discussing the way to move forward. Both of the leaders are aware the important of each other in many factors. Both new generation leaders is trying hard to improve the relationship with each other’s even though there is a few issue that not resolve yet. But their mutual agreement in developing economic sector each other shows the positive prospect towards very warm relationship. Both leaders also seem in the same view in settling issue through win-win situation and compromise. With the realisation by the leaders in win-win situation and compromising each other, it may lead towards prosperous relationship in the future. It’s the leader and their foreign policy which is determining the future of these relations. Thus, the leader should take every effort to ensure the warming of the relationship is preserve to ensure the mutual benefits. The security and military activities is to be enhanced to ensure the safety of both countries. With the firm security the development of economy can be planned and develop towards higher level. With the interest of Singapore investors in IRDA is high, it is not possible Singapore will extend the security watch in the area to ensure safety of their investment. Thus this will benefit both countries towards long and warm relationship. Despite all the bilateral issue, it is observed that, both country is dependant each other in economy, social, and also security aspect. With that the warming relations that initiated by both the new generation leader is a good step towards more close relation. 3117 words Reference: Ganesan, 2005, p. 58 Rusdi Omar, et. al. (2005). Hubungan Malaysia-Singapura Era Mahathir. Sintok: Penerbit Universiti Utara Malaysia. p. 2. Joint statement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak at the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat on 24 May 2010, 24 May 2010, , retrieved 2010-05-25 Water Conflicts Between Malaysia and Singapore. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia Star. (1999). June 5. p. -2. 1961 water agreement with Johor expires on Wednesday. The Straits Times. 14 October 2011 â€Å"Johor-Singapore Causeway†. Wikipedia Rusdi Omar. 2007. Malaysia-Singapore Relations: Issues and Strategies. Working paper presented at the International Conference on Southeast Asia in 3-4 December 2007 at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia M’sia Stops Construction O f Bridge To Replace Johor Causeway. Prime Minister’s Office, Malaysia. 12 April 2006. Pedra Branca, Singapore. Wikipedia Solve CPF Withdrawal Issue With Singapore. The Star Online. 12 November 2008 Kyodo News. (2005). Singapore and Malaysia resolve land reclamation dispute. April 26. http://www. channelnewsasia. com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/144527/1/. html Rusdi Omar, Mohd Ainuddin; Mas Juliana Mukhtarudin. 2005. Malaysia-Singapore Relations During Mahathir’s Era. Sintok, Kedah: UUM News Straits Time. (2003). May 5. p. 22. Asian Economic News. (2002). Oct 14. p. 19 Malaysia’s Foreign Relations: Issues and Challenges. Ruhanas Harun. Page 24 The Star (2013) Mac 16 Malaysia-Singapore Relations: Never Mind the Rhetoric . Anthony L. Smith. October 2004 ——————————————– 1 ]. Ganesan, 2005, p. 58 [ 2 ]. Rusdi Omar, et. al. (2005). Hubungan Malaysia-Singapura Era Mahathir. Sintok: Penerbit Universiti Utara Malaysia. p. 2. [ 3 ]. Joint statement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak at the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ R etreat on 24 May 2010, 24 May 2010, , retrieved 2010-05-25 [ 4 ]. Water Conflicts Between Malaysia and Singapore. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia [ 5 ]. Star. (1999). June 5. p. 1-2. [ 6 ]. 1961 water agreement with Johor expires on Wednesday. The Straits Times. 14 October 2011 [ 7 ]. Johor-Singapore Causeway†. Wikipedia [ 8 ]. Rusdi Omar. 2007. Malaysia-Singapore Relations: Issues and Strategies. Working paper presented at the International Conference on Southeast Asia in 3-4 December 2007 at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia [ 9 ]. M’sia Stops Construction Of Bridge To Replace Johor Causeway. Prime Minister’s Office, Malaysia. 12 April 2006. [ 10 ]. Pedra Branca, Singapore. Wikipedia [ 11 ]. Solve CPF Withdrawal Issue With Singapore. The Star Online. 12 November 2008 [ 12 ]. Kyodo News. (2005). Singapore and Malaysia resolve land reclamation dispute. April 26. http://www. channelnewsasia. com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/144527/1/. html [ 13 ]. Rusdi Omar, Mohd Ainuddin Mas Juliana Mukhtarudin. 2005. Malaysia-Singapore Relations During Mahathir’s Era. Sintok, Kedah: UUM [ 14 ]. News Straits Time. (2003). May 5. p. 22. [ 15 ]. Asian Economic News. (2002). Oct 14. p. 19. [ 16 ]. Malaysia’s Foreign Relations: Issues and Challenges. Ruhanas Harun. Page 24 [ 17 ]. The Star (2013) Mac 16 [ 18 ]. Ibid [ 19 ]. The Star (2013) Mac 16 [ 20 ]. Ibid [ 21 ]. Malaysia-Singapore Relations: Never Mind the Rhetoric . Anthony L. Smith. October 2004 How to cite Malaysia-Singapore Raltions, Papers

Leading and Managing People Motivation Guidance †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Leading and Managing People Guidance. Answer: Introduction Good management tries to lead and manage people. Leading and managing people are one of the most significant puzzle pieces in a company. The organization cannot succeed without the contribution of its employees. According to the email received by the senior manager in the organization, the concepts like motivation, social responsibility, ethics, team-working, organisational change and ethics contribute to staff improvement. Leaders have the capability to inspire employees to foster a stimulating working environment that makes people thrived, valued and motivated. Managers are those people, who find the right way to accomplish the goals and objectives established by the organization (Kontoghiorghes 2016). The topic chosen for this report is motivation. It can be defined as the hypothetical construct as it guides peoples actions, needs and desires. Leading and managing is important as it provides guidance for the subordinates. Motivation creates confidence among people so that their role can be explained. Motivation helps in building morale towards work and winning trust. The task of leading and managing people is important as it helps the organization grow. It is a way for the leaders to bring the organization to a higher standard. Good people management is necessary as employees can be emotionally unstable. The role of a manager and leader is to overcome the pitfalls and maintain team stability (Stack 2013). This report presents an elaborate discussion on motivation based on the previous studies and literature. The advantages and disadvantages of motivation to a business, especially to the manager is determined. The importance of motivation and the ways in which it can make an organization successful are elaborated. The argument made by the manager in the email regarding having no right or wrong answers when related to leadership is also challenged. Discussion of Motivation Motivation can be defined as the way in which managers promote productivity among their employees. The job of a manager is to motivate employees to do their job in a consistent manner. The psychological factors, which stimulate the performance of people, are the desire for recognition, money, team work, success, job satisfaction, and others. The role of a leader is to stimulate interest in the organizational success. Motivation can help create psychological contract in the workplace. The concept may become increasingly complex (Jex and Britt 2014). Motivation As stated earlier, motivation provides us with the energy to pursue outcomes. Motivation is derived from a Latin word Move. Motivation started attracting researchers in the post-industrialized world. Motivation is a trigger stimulus that is equipped with some patterns of behaviour (Pinder 2015). Theories Maslows theory if requirements give the structure to develop motivational strategy for the organizations. It deals with the differing needs of human while arranging them in a hierarchy where satisfaction at one level leads to another. Maslow theory helps the employees in attaining self-actualization. It manifests after the physiological and other basic needs of the employees. However, the theory is opposed by other behaviourists stating that Maslow providess a uni-dimensional explanation as well as may not be suitable for all the employees (Taormina and Gao 2013). Herzbergs Motivation Hygiene Theory Herzberg employs motivational factors that influence the employees internally and externally that the theorist calls motivators and hygiene. The theory states that together the hygiene and motivators have a vital role to shape the motivation feature of employees (Kultalahti and Liisa Viitala 2014). Merits and Demerits Leading and managing people are crucial and motivation has certain merits and demerits: Motivation is advantageous as it convinces the requirements of individuals and groups. The individual joins an organization for fulfilling certain requirements. Motivation helps the manager to meet such requirements and fulfil those needs. Motivation promotes job satisfaction. When the needs of employees are satisfied, he is more likely to generate greater output. The managers are satisfied with their jobs that boost creative thinking and are challenging in character. The contribution of the individuals to output is the ensuing of two variables-his ability for work as well as his willingness for the work. If P is the performance, A is an ability and M motivation, then P = A X M. The performance is unequal to the figure of an ability and motivation of individual but rather to the invention of these two variables. Therefore, the level of performance is constantly increasing the amount of motivation. Proper motivation increases productivity (Perryer et al. 2016). Further, motivation enhances the learning procedure. Learning may not happen without motivation. If the employee has unwillingness to learn, he will not learn even if he is in a perfect capacity. Motivation promotes self-discipline. The employees are expected to respect and orderly behaviour with their superiors due to the panic of punishment. Motivation may raise regulation to the positive level. Motivation consists of dynamism. If the workers are motivated properly, energy is created that impacts the productivity level and profitability positively (Pandey 2014). The content theories of motivation conclude what motivates employees and workers at work. The theorists identify the needs of people and the ways in which it energizes behaviour. The theorist is concerned with the goal that people struggle to attain for maximum satisfaction. Therefore, it is analysed that motivation leads to higher staff retention- leading to reduced recruitment costs. The productivity levels are high with greater creativity and innovation (Olafsen et al. 2015). Intrinsic motivation drives success based on the inner goals as well as ambition. However, extrinsic motivation can be obtained from external sources that push performance. The total labour costs can be reduced if the employees have high level of intrinsic motivation. The managers can benefit from intrinsic motivation as they have to spend less time to motivate the employees intrinsically. Therefore, the managers shall have time to focus on important tasks and more productive task. The intrinsic motivation allows a small business for operating with fewer managers of the hierarchy level thereby reducing labour costs and keeping the company lean. The intrinsically motivated employees shall try to resolve problems by themselves rather than asking the managers for the assistance even for the smaller issues. Also, the employees who are motivated intrinsically shall not be guided by the supervisors for taking new projects (Nie et al. 2015). Additionally, intrinsically motivated employees are more creative than the rest. Therefore, the managers can develop their career and make it more valuable through strategic initiatives. The employees may be priceless to the small businesses for example software improvment, where the innovation can change the power framework. These employees can be invaluable to small businesses in industries such as software development, where innovation can change the power structure in the industry overnight (Cerasoli, Nicklin, and Ford 2014). Extrinsic motivation in organization can permit a great degree of control over the operational procedures. The employees who are motivated extrinsically require close supervision to enhance performance. Therefore, the managers can keep a close watch as well as guide the employees at work. The supervision may be unbearable to various employees whereas the other employees may thrive in constant guidance and encouragement from their seniors (Benedetti et al. 2015). The extrinsic motivation is offered as the financial incentives to a certain extent encouragement. The incentives can increase all motivation of employees that makes them break personal performance records. The new levels of the efficiency can be reached as the personal performance records can be broken (Dysvik and Kuvaas 2013). However, intrinsic motivation may be disadvantageous. Intrinsic motivation can make the employees lose track of space and time. There is not enough time for the managers to perform or learn essential tasks while learning. Job satisfaction is a weakness for the employees as the employees may damage the presentation of the entire team in the association. Also, it is difficult for the managers to attain short-term goals such as intrinsic rewards get a longer phase of time. Further, the research states that extrinsic rewards are offered to a person to perform task that may decrease the level of intrinsic motivation. The personal wish of the employees shall decrease and cause low satisfaction. Additionally, it shall build up stress if the manager relies much on extrinsic rewards. Financial incentives are introduced to the agents for contributing to a socially attractive outcome that tends to reduce the number of contribution (Gerhart and Fang 2015). Workplace flexibility adds to motivation of employees. The millennial are more interested in the work life balance and working conditions. The balance of work life can be defined as the condition of equilibrium, which is achieved in between the working priorities as well as lifestyle. The workers should enjoy their individual time outside the business surroundings. Flexibility is important as the employees might take lower salary but good flexibility shall motivate them. Flexibility can be considered as a reward. Flexible working would not be a motivator for every person. Some people may have to work longer days to get a bit of spare time when they can relax. However, it is becoming a deliberation for many companies, especially as more workers argue about the non-flexible working might be a deal-breaker. According to the managers view, there are no right or wrong answers for leading the people. This notion can be challenged as motivation works the best when implemented appropriately in the workplace. Motivation and achievement are directly related with each other. Achievement in the workplace deals with sense of accomplishment and pride. The managers who notice a decrease in performance level need to take proactive steps for enhancing motivation and employee morale. One of the strategies for better motivation of employees is employee recognition. Managers need to thank their employees only to avoid the decline in motivation. Managers do not need to purchase extravagant gifts as a way to motivate employees. The managers may thank the employee with a e gesture as it can motivate the employees as well as make them feel valuable. Employee recognition may be considered the most successful tool when employees earn fair wage. Further, the employers that emphasize on the quality of life moti vate employees towards high level of productivity. The employees are concerned about balancing their work and personal life that can diminish their morale and performance. The employers may put into practice flexible schedules giving them the capacity to promote their quality of life. Conclusion and Recommendations Conclusively, psychological contract and flexibility leads to motivation. According to the email received by the senior manager in the organization, the concepts for excample motivation, team-working, ethics, social responsibility, organisational change and ethics contribute to staff development. Motivation creates confidence among people so that their role can be explained. The psychological factors that stimulate the behaviour of people are needs for money, recognition, success, team work, job satisfaction, and others. Motivation started attracting researchers in the post-industrialized world. It deals with the differing needs of human while arranging them in a hierarchy where satisfaction at one level leads to another. The theory states that both the hygiene and motivators play a vital role in shaping the motivation factor of employees. Leading and managing people are crucial and motivation has certain merits and demerits. It is recommended to enhance motivational factors. When the needs of employees are satisfied, he is more likely to generate greater output. Learning does not take place without motivation. If the workers are motivated properly, energy is created that impacts the productivity level and profitability positively. The theorists identify the needs of people and the ways in which it energizes behaviour. The intrinsic motivation allows a small business for operating with less managers in hierarchy level thereby reducing labour costs and keeping the company lean. Also, the employees who are motivated intrinsically shall not be guided by the supervisors for taking new projects. The managers can develop their career and make it more valuable through strategic initiatives. The employees who are motivated extrinsically require close supervision to enhance performance. The incentives can increase all motivation of the employees that makes them break individual performance records. Job satisfactio n is a weakness for the employees as the employees may damage the performance of the entire team in the organization. The personal desire of the employees shall decrease and cause low satisfaction. References Benedetti, A.A., Diefendorff, J.M., Gabriel, A.S. and Chandler, M.M., 2015. The effects of intrinsic and extrinsic sources of motivation on well-being depend on time of day: The moderating effects of workday accumulation.Journal of Vocational Behavior,88, pp.38-46. Cerasoli, C.P., Nicklin, J.M. and Ford, M.T., 2014. Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: A 40-year meta-analysis.Psychological bulletin,140(4), p.980. Dysvik, A. and Kuvaas, B., 2013. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as predictors of work effort: The moderating role of achievement goals.British Journal of Social Psychology,52(3), pp.412-430. Gerhart, B. and Fang, M., 2015. Pay, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, performance, and creativity in the workplace: Revisiting long-held beliefs.Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav.,2(1), pp.489-521. Kontoghiorghes, C., 2016. Linking high performance organizational culture and talent management: satisfaction/motivation and organizational commitment as mediators.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,27(16), pp.1833-1853. Kultalahti, S. and Liisa Viitala, R., 2014. Sufficient challenges and a weekend aheadGeneration Y describing motivation at work.Journal of Organizational Change Management,27(4), pp.569-582. Nie, Y., Chua, B.L., Yeung, A.S., Ryan, R.M. and Chan, W.Y., 2015. The importance of autonomy support and the mediating role of work motivation for well?being: Testing self?determination theory in a Chinese work organisation.International Journal of Psychology,50(4), pp.245-255. Olafsen, A.H., Halvari, H., Forest, J. and Deci, E.L., 2015. Show them the money? The role of pay, managerial need support, and justice in a self?determination theory model of intrinsic work motivation. Scandinavian journal of psychology, 56(4), pp.447-457. Pandey, P., 2014. Employee motivation and retention-key to organisational performance-in Indian perspective.International Journal of Marketing and Technology,4(4), p.144. Perryer, C., Celestine, N.A., Scott-Ladd, B. and Leighton, C., 2016. Enhancing workplace motivation through gamification: Transferrable lessons from pedagogy.The International Journal of Management Education,14(3), pp.327-335. Taormina, R.J. and Gao, J.H., 2013. Maslow and the motivation hierarchy: Measuring satisfaction of the needs.The American journal of psychology,126(2), pp.155-177.

The Importance of Educating Somalian Immigrants in Minnesota

America has been the nation of immigrants since it was discovered by Columbus (Moore, 2010). Immigrants from all over the world move to America in anticipation of getting a better life (Bekerman, 2012). America is often referred to as the land of opportunities, motivating many people to move there.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Importance of Educating Somalian Immigrants in Minnesota specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Immigrants from Somalia moved to America for the same reasons (Bekerman, 2012). The American citizens and their government have the responsibility of doing something to help the ever increasing number of immigrants. All the immigrants in America can not fulfill their dreams without the help of the American government (Moore, 2010). There is no way immigrants can have better lives without education. This paper will highlight the importance of educating Somalian immigrants in Minnesota. S omalian immigrants can only become participatory members to the American society through education. The first reason why the Somalian immigrants should be educated is for them to develop the necessary skills that are required in the American labor market (Atkins, 2008). The Somalian immigrants in Minnesota can not access employment opportunities in Minnesota and other areas if they are unskilled (Williams, 2010). It is important to note that all immigrants need some training in order to meet the required qualifications in the American labor market (Mcilrath, 2007). The American government invests a lot of money in educating immigrants for them to make a significant contribution to the economy of the country (Williams, 2010). The Somalian immigrants have a right to get an education similar to other minority groups in the United States. The available entrepreneurial opportunities can not be exploited if the immigrants do not have relevant entrepreneurial skills (Mcilrath, 2007). Among the major licensing requirements in the United States is a university degree which makes it difficult for Somalian immigrants to operate any business in Minnesota (Williams, 2010). It is important for immigrants to be familiar with the language of the host country for them to get support (Mcilrath, 2007). Immigrants from Somalia do not know English which makes it necessary for them to learn some language skills (Darboe, 2003). The Somalian immigrants can not feel comfortable while interacting with the local people if they do not understand the native language (Darboe, 2003).Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Somalian immigrants can develop their vocabulary and language skills at local community centers through the help of interpreters (Mcilrath, 2007). The local people can assist them in learning the local language by organizing events for developing vocabulary and languag e skills (Darboe, 2003). Schools and churches are some of the best places that Somalian immigrants in Minnesota can receive some language skills. The Somalian immigrants should be able to interpret and use the local language for them to communicate and work with the local people (Williams, 2010). It is estimated that almost 70% of the Somalian immigrants in Minnesota are illiterate who were helped by educated family members in their migration arrangements (Moore, 2010). The majority of Somalian immigrants of the working age do not even have a high school diploma (Mcilrath, 2007). There is a very wide gap between the Somalian immigrants and the natives in Minnesota when it comes to educational attainment (Moore, 2010). The economic performance of the Somalian immigrants entirely depends on their level of education (Williams, 2010). The American government should come up with policies that promote the education of immigrants in order to improve their economic performance. The improvem ent of the economic performance of Somalian immigrants is beneficial to them and other Minnesota residents (Mcilrath, 2007). The poverty levels of Somalian immigrants in Minnesota are very high and the only way to solve that problem is by improving their literacy levels through education (Kruizenga, 2010). Illiterate immigrants find it difficult to cope economically because they can neither get jobs nor do business. Economic empowerment can only be attained through education and training (Kruizenga, 2010). Recent research has shown that education plays a very significant role in improving the economic situation of immigrants (Grossman, 1982). The Somalian immigrants in Minnesota are the poorest compared to natives and other immigrants. Educating immigrants leads to employment growth in Minnesota through the retention of local industries (Grossman, 1982). The social status of Somalian immigrants can also be improved by educating them (Darboe, 2003). Education is a very important fact or in determining the social status of a person within the society (Moore, 2010).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Importance of Educating Somalian Immigrants in Minnesota specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Somalian immigrants will continue to feel inferior to the natives because of their academic qualifications. Educating Somalian immigrants in Minnesota can help a great deal in improving their socioeconomic status (Butcher, 1991). The Somalian immigrants can not be aware of their civil rights and liberties without education. Education enables immigrants to be aware of their entitlements in the host country (Borjas, 1987). Minnesota has benefited a lot from the fact that Somalian immigrants living within the region make a significant contribution towards economic growth (Bekerman, 2012). Educating Somalian immigrants helps in reducing the crime levels in Minnesota. Unemployment is one of the major causes of crime and this can only be solved through education (Bekerman, 2012). Educating Somalian immigrants promotes economic and political stability in Minnesota because every person feels valued when he or she is educated. Minnesota has the highest number of immigrants, meaning that failure to create new opportunities through education leads to an economic instability (Bekerman, 2012). An educated Somalian immigrant can create more employment opportunities that can benefit all the residents of Minnesota (Bekerman, 2012). The resources that are normally used on welfare programs can be used to fund other development projects because education reduces one’s reliance on the American government for help (Darboe, 2003). The Somali people are good in doing business, which can only be enhanced through education (Darboe, 2003). Equipping Somalian immigrants with entrepreneurial skills can improve the business environment in Minnesota. An increase in the number of businesses means that there will be more jobs for the local people in Minnesota (Atkins, 2008). Education brings economic empowerment that enables people to have the spending power (Darboe, 2010). The spending power of people is what makes the local businesses thrive. Education enables people to be more creative and innovative (Atkins, 2008). Minnesota State needs people who can enhance socioeconomic growth in the region through their creativity (Williams, 2010). Innovation helps in the creation of new systems and improvement of the existing ones. The creative capacity of a person can only be enhanced by education. The Somalian immigrants and those from other parts of the world have the potential to make a significant contribution to the socioeconomic growth of Minnesota if they are given the proper education (Williams, 2010).Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In conclusion, it is important to educate the Somalian immigrants in Minnesota in order to improve their socioeconomic status. Many of the immigrants from Somalia are illiterate and therefore can not make any contribution to the local economy (Bekerman, 2012). The poverty levels of Somalian immigrants are very high because the majority of them do not have the required skills to exploit the available economic opportunities in Minnesota (Atkins, 2008). The American government should come up with educational programs that can enhance the socioeconomic empowerment of Somalian immigrants living in Minnesota (Moore, 2010). It is clearly evident from the discussion in this paper that educating Somalian Immigrants in Minnesota is very beneficial to the region (Moore, 2010). References Atkins, A. (2008). Creating Minnesota: A history from the inside out. New York, NY: Minnesota Historical Society. Bekerman, Z. (2012). International handbook of migration, minorities and education: Undertandin g. New York, NY: Springer. Borjas, J. (1987). Immigrants, Minorities, and labor market competition. Industrial and Labor Relations, 40(3), 382-392. Butcher, F. (1991). Immigration and Wages: Evidence from the 1980s. Economic Impact of Immigration, 81(2), 292-296. Darboe, K. (2003). New Immigrants in Minnesota: The Somali immigration and assimilation. Journal of developing societies, 19(4), 65-79. Grossman, B. (1982). The substitutability of natives and immigrants in production. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 64(4), 596-603. Kruizenga, T. (2010). Teaching Somali children: What perceived challenges do Somali students face in the public school system. International Journal of Education, 2(1), 78-154. Mcilrath, L. (2007). Higher education and civic engagement: International Perspectives. London. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Moore, M. (2010). What makes Somalis so different? Retrieved from https://psmag.com/social-justice/what-makes-somalis-so-different-26347 Williams, P. (2010). Exc lusive: Small town America transformed by Somali Migrants. Web. This research paper on The Importance of Educating Somalian Immigrants in Minnesota was written and submitted by user Mayson Vargas to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

UN ID Number Definition for Chemicals

UN ID Number Definition for Chemicals A United Nations Number –Â  also called a UN number or UN ID –Â  is a four digit code used to identify flammable and harmful chemicals. Non-hazardous chemicals are not given UN numbers. UN numbers are assigned by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and range from UN0001 to about UN3534. However, UN 0001, UN 0002, and UN 0003 are no longer in use. In some cases, specific chemicals are assigned a UN ID, while in other cases, a number can apply to a group of products with similar properties. If a chemical behaves differently as a liquid than as a solid, two different numbers may be assigned. For the most part, NA numbers (North America numbers) from the United States Department of Transportation are identical to UN numbers. In some cases, a NA number exists where a UN number has not been assigned.There are a few exceptions, including the identifier for asbestos and that for non-pressurized self-defense spray. Use of UN Numbers The primary purpose for the codes is to regulate modes of transport for hazardous chemicals and provide key information for emergency response teams in the event of an accident. The codes may also be used to identify storage incompatibilities. UN Number Examples UN numbers are only assigned for hazardous materials, such as explosives, oxidizers, toxins, and flammable substances. The first number in modern use is UN0004, is for ammonium picrate, present at less than 10% by mass. The UN for acrylamide is UN2074. Gunpowder is identified by UN0027. Air bag modules are indicated by UN0503.

CUSHING'S SYNDROME Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CUSHING'S SYNDROME - Assignment Example The paper will cover the symptoms and diagnostic procedure to evaluate for Cushings syndrome. There are various symptoms of the syndrome. The symptoms include increased weight, thinning skin that gets harmed easily, stretch marks that appear as reddish-purple located on the thighs, stomach, buttocks, arms, legs, and breasts (NHS, 2015). Other symptoms include fat deposits that occur in the face, weakness of muscles or bones, and loss of libido. The affected individual may also experience mood swings, high blood pressure, irregular menses, and frequent urination (State Government of Victoria, 2015). There are various diagnostic procedures to evaluate the syndrome. The first important thing is to do a physical and visual examination to note of any change. At the same time, it will also be necessary to establish the individual medical history. The other thing is to measure the amount of cortisol in the body. This is done through urine, blood, and saliva tests (NHS, 2015). The tests will help confirm the level of cortisol in the body. The other thing is to establish the underlying causes for the condition. The first thing is to determine whether the syndrome is as a result of increased amount of adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) in the blood (NHS, 2015). The reduced level of ACTH may confirm the presence of a tumor in the adrenal glands. The best way of confirming the syndrome is through petrosal sinus sampling. It entails taking a blood sample from the veins of pituitary gland and forearm (NHS, 2015). This is followed by comparing the level of ACTH in both samples. Sometimes x-r ays and scans may be

Labor Relations - 5 question essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Labor Relations - 5 question - Essay Example Key national interference in support of unionism together with the â€Å"the National Labor Relations Act of 1935† and â€Å"Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932† (Baird, 2011) were based on the fake notion that labor and business management are mutual rivals. In reality, both labor and management are engaged by customers to manufacture products and services, and thus it creates no logic to presume a sharp difference between the two units. Labor and Management are harmonizing in nature, not rivals. Both the workforce and the management are the inputs to the manufacturing process. Recently â€Å"The National Labor Relations Board† has permitted a new regulation entailing private companies to show posters informing the employees on their right to create a union, along with their right to allocate union writing and getting associated to further forms of union operations devoid of retaliation (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 2011). Answer 2 A huge majority of agreements in the U.S . have been attained by the means of non-economic weapons like collective bargaining. In this procedure the organization representatives and the Labor discuss together their issues to arrive at a commonly satisfactory agreement. When the negotiation between the involved agents does not produce new agreements, the partakers usually go for mediator support. The unbiased mediators get together with the quarreling parties to offer them a helping hand and view the domains of harmony (Craver, 2013). The mediators search for means to tackle the domains of difference. The facilitators persuade the bargaining parties to move beyond their affirmed positions to allow them to investigate their fundamental wellbeing. If mediation fails then a type of obligatory attention arbitration approach is followed that unites final proposal and conservative interest arbitration (Laner and Manning, 2013). The major benefits of such non economic approaches are saving a lot of time while the main limitation i s spending a huge sum of money for the discussed procedure. Answer 3 Off shoring advantages- Cost: cost saving and taxes saving are the key reasons for firms taking on off shoring. Firms can cut the labor charges, worker administration and organization cost, workplace room and apparatus cost and list continues. Making the most of the â€Å"Time Zone Advantage†: Off shoring offers the firms the benefits of developing the time zone by getting surround the clock advantages. Flexibility: The process of off shoring offers the firms with definite flexibilities involving the elimination of appointing and extinction charges in the other nation (Light speed IT solutions, 2012). Off shoring disadvantages- Political environment:  the Political environment in overseas nations is a major source of insecurity as these can be unbalanced at times. Alteration in management policies can amplify the expenditure. Differences in work culture and practices - A vast divergence remains always in t he job culture and that are tough to conquer. Hidden charges:  frequently the unseen cost like legal charges and changeable exchange rate are hard to determine in advance. Variations in currency rates influence the profits to a great extent. Communication hurdle:  It is a lot hard to correspond with firms in other nations that converse in a diverse native dialect. Face to face conferences are very costly

History of nursing development Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

History of nursing development - Case Study Example A major revolution in knowledge took place in 1950s when nurses started identifying and shaping necessary requirements for a separate knowledge body thanks to emergence, articulation and investigation of theories in nursing. Modern knowledge in nursing emphasizes research based on clinical questions, definition of concepts as well as variables, control of conditions and accurate instrumentation. According to (Thomas 1997) cited in Winters and Ballou, (2004), science can be defined broadly as â€Å"an intellectual process using all available mental and physical resources to better understand, explain, quantitate and predict normal as well as unusual natural phenomena.† This applied to nursing then it qualifies as a science and this way it is able to meet client requirements in biological, psychological and social terms. As a discipline, nursing utilizes both philosophical and scientific forms of inquiry; it combines social, empirical and applied elements of science and this because it concerns with both general and individual human experiences as well as the relationship between nurses and clients. It is therefore very important for nursing to stand out as an independent body of knowledge in science. Doctoral education in nursing will help prepare nursing scientists with better knowledge and skill to eradicate sources and impacts of scientific error in the field. Nurs es of today are not being cross trained with other fields, goals and research methods in nursing have become clearer. Therefore continuous support for extensive research at the level of PHD alongside peer review evaluation will effectively see the discipline do away with errors. In conclusion therefore the body of knowledge categorized as nursing has evolved over time and continues to improve for better service. It was initially viewed as subordinate with a lot of borrowed knowledge, later grow to formulate own theories and now is concerned with the whole human body hence

Research and Review into Crisis Management: Mitigating Disaster

Research and Review into Crisis Management: Mitigating Disaster A crisis is a major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome. However, almost every crisis contains within itself the seeds of success as well as the roots of failure. At a conference in Japan on June 21, 2006, a Dell laptop suddenly exploded into flames, and lucky for its owner the fiery blast occurred while the PC was sitting on a table and not in his lap. An onlooker reported that the notebook continued to burn, producing several more explosions over the course of about five minutes. On August 15th, members of Dell Inc.s Global Corporate Communications/Investor Relations organization were part of a team facing an unprecedented challenge. The team had been working with regulatory agencies in various countries for an announcement of the largest recall in the history of consumer electronics, 4.2 million Dell branded lithium-ion batteries, with cells manufactured by Sony. The announcement was leaked to the press and Dell accelerated its plans by 12 hours, including launching the recall Web site early. The focus of the Corporate Communication/Investor Relations team and key business leaders remained clear: to effectively and efficiently inform customers, employees and shareholders about the recall. The recall, one of the largest in the history of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, couldnt have come at a worse time. According to a closely watched annual study by the University of Michigan, Dells efforts to improve service, which it only recently acknowledged publicly was inadequate, appear to be paying off. That progress is a key part of a long-awaited turnaround at the worlds largest PC maker, which is struggling with a host of problems, including sluggish sales growth in its core businesses. The news of the notebook computer recall hits just as Michigan released its American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) showing that Dells customer-satisfaction score jumped 5.4% from a year ago, to 78-a point above the industry average. That puts Dell in second place, behind Apple Computer, whose score rose 2.5%, to 83. Dells recent improvements follow many quarters of poorer service that became fodder for countless customer complaints, sometimes publicized on high-profile chat rooms and blogs. Consumers, which account for about 14% of Dells total revenue, have complained of hold times stretching for 30 minutes or more, numerous call transfers, dropped calls, and, perhaps most important, an inability of the call-center representatives to communicate clearly and answer their questions. Indeed, many consumers posting on blogs and chat sites continue to complain bitterly about Dell. Literature Review In contrast to the disciplines of emergency and risk management, which deal primarily with natural disasters, the field of crisis management deals mainly with man-made or human-caused crises, such as computer hacking, environmental contamination, executive kidnapping, fraud, product tampering, sexual harassment, and workplace violence. Unlike natural disasters, human-caused crises are not inevitable. They do not need to happen. For this reason, the public is extremely critical of those organizations that are responsible for their occurrence. Nonetheless, even with the best of frameworks and the best of preparations, it is unfortunately still the case that not all crises can be prevented. This even holds true for those crises that we know with almost complete certainty will occur. But the impacts of all crises can be lessened if one has a thorough understanding of the essential basics of crisis management. While not all crises can be foreseen, let alone prevented, all of them can be managed far more effectively if we understand and practice the best of what is humanly possible (Mitroff and Anagnos, 2001). Effective management of information is vital to the operations of most organizations. Some years ago Wells said Without adequate communication an organization will soon grind to a halt (Wells, 1978). More recently Bakewell has pointed out Communication is the hallmark of good management (Bakewell, 1997). Good communication goes hand in hand with effective management of information. Effective management of information at a time of crisis is even more vital, when damage to an organizations reputation or damage to established goodwill can result in severe damage to operations. An organizations reputation is as important as any other corporate asset, and many organizations have some kind of crisis plan intended to protect that reputation should something go wrong. This is when effective management of information (controlling communications) is so vital and always difficult. A few basic rules have clearly emerged from some recent crises. First of all the importance of telling the truth. Second, rather than let the media network speculate, use the media network as a opportunity to disseminate your information. Leave no room for speculation if you cant tell them something, tell them why you cant tell them (PR Journal, 1995). Perhaps another basic rule to be mentioned at this point is the need to apologize promptly when appropriate. Sir Jeremy Morse, banker and past chairman of the Institute of Bankers, maintains that it almost always pays to issue an early apology. Although this could lead to an organization being blamed for something which is not its fault, he comments: Nevertheless, there are two central reasons why this is usually the right course. First, externally, the public respect an apology freely given rather than one that comes after a considerable period of stonewalling. Secondly, internally, an early apology frees managers to sort out the problems far more effectively than if they are still maintaining an outward front that nothing is wrong (Haywood, 1994, p. 177). However, Black (1993) points out that if a lawyer is present there may be pressure not to express sympathy in case this is taken to imply liability: Lawyers must be told that the consequences to the company of not communicating and showing sympathy in practical terms are sure to be much worse than if an open policy of full information and generosity is adopted. It is vital to realize the speed of media coverage because of new technological developments. Not only can stories be relayed by mobile phones and faxed from cars, but they can also be sent from helicopters and bounced off satellites. Pictures too can be taken by digital computerized cameras and sent down telecommunications lines: When Greenpeace staged its high-profile stand against the sinking of the Brent Spar oil platform, it not only posted information on the Web, but was reported to have airlifted sophisticated filming equipment and a satellite down station on to the rig, so that they could provide their own VNRs direct to news outlets (Nicholas, 1996a). This means that it is unlikely that there will be a time delay between an incident or crisis erupting and the resulting media coverage. This emphasizes the need to react quickly at a time of crisis, and to let all parties know immediately about the action you have taken. Communicating effectively was now more often seen as of t he same importance as putting the problems right. (IPR Journal, 1995, p. 14). Furthermore, the media are in competition and hungry for the most newsworthy stories. Generally bad news is very newsworthy and more sensational (Ashcroft, 1994). If immediate information is not available, this leaves room for speculative stories. Methodology This paper reviews how Dell itself has responded to the challenges raised by bloggers, how it has enhanced its customer services and how it has itself undertaken social media initiatives. We use a proven customer loyalty metric the Net Promoters index to assess whether these initiatives have been successful. We conclude that Dell has made some limited progress in reducing negative consumer commentary about its customer services. Where Dell has been most successful is in creating a conversation about its own social media initiatives: Dell has absorbed in its own product planning and its communications the hard lessons of the Dell Hell experience, and opened a dialogue with its customers, which is directly benefitting its word-of-mouth approval rating. Findings A crisis can be divided into six stages. First, the detection of prodromes is a way for the company involved to predict any potential occurrence. For example, if an organization in the same line as yours is faced with a crisis, then you may start looking out. The second stage is prevention. It refers to how a company can prevent a crisis. That can be done by maintaining public relations programs, or by establishing a corporate culture, or even by including a crisis management plan in the strategic planning process. The third stage is containment. It is a process of limiting the amplitude of the crisis, the impact of the crisis and the spread of the crisis. Then, the next stage is recovery. It consists of two major aspects: getting the organization back to normal, and restoring stakeholder confidence in the organization. The following stage, learning, is a post crisis process consisting of examining the crisis, looking at what was lost and what was gained, and how the organization fun ctioned during the crisis. Finally, the last stage is the adjustment of the crisis management plan and crisis communication team. In view of what was achieved in the learning stage, the crisis management plan and the crisis communication team must be updated and any new risks uncovered by the crisis should be incorporated in them. Detection of prodromes It turned out that this occurrence was not an isolated case. In December last year, Dell launched a massive recall of about 35,000 notebook batteries contained in laptops that were deemed to pose a potential fire risk. The company said at the time it had received three reports of batteries overheating, and while no injuries were sustained, damage to a tabletop, a desktop and minor damage to personal effects had been recorded. The problem is not limited to Dell laptops. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, as many as 43 laptop fires have been reported in the US alone since 2001. It has been almost ten years now since we were first warned about the dangers of the lithium-ion accumulators/storage batteries, the only ones that include a flammable liquid in a pressurized container. In case of short-circuit, they can go up in flames and explode. This is therefore why this kind of battery is rarely used in do-it-yourself tools and hybrid cars. However, they are very popular in IT as they offer an energy density between two and four times superior to those of traditional batteries (nickel-cadmium, hybrid-metal or lead). Also being much lighter, they facilitate the manufacture of miniature devices able to hold a whole day with one single charge. Several cases of explosion have occurred in the past few years, but they were rarely given publicity in the media. At best, these explosive batteries were considered to be isolated incidents. At worst, they were seen as fabrications. In the summer of 2006, the context changed, after several explosions in Singapore in June, and in Utah in July. After an enquiry, we learnt that the problem had been diagnosed more than one year ago. Between 2004 and 2005, Dell analyzed a dozen batteries that had overheated. They detected a fault in the lithium-ion cells of its supplier Sony. Some small particles could infect the cells, provoke a short-circuit and overheat the battery. The fault would have been repaired in February 2006. Sony reviewed its manufacturing process as well as its quality control in order to limit the presence of these particles, and eventually everything was back to normal. But nothing had been done for the batteries already on the market. At the time, we had no serious confirmation of disaster, fire or explosion. There was therefore no reason to launch a substantial operation, added a member of the conception team for the Latitude laptops. We have to wonder: was Dell waiting for a drama to start before making a move? Today, Dell admits having known about these problems for more than a year, but declares that they had trouble in evaluating the seriousness of the situation. They also needed time to find the source of the problem, before launching a modest recall. However, its quite possible that Dell was simply trying to protect itself by sending some information to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which would have allowed them to negotiate in a better position in case of litigation. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission actually doesnt blame Dell for anything, indicating that the company did its job by acknowledging the problem. It is not the first time that Dell acted this way; it happened three times in five years. Already in 2001, 284  000 computers had been recalled for the same kind of symptoms, and 35  000 others in December 2005. However, during their press conference, the American giant renewed its confidence in Sony, which would keep its status of battery supplier for the laptops of the number one worldwide. Prevention During 2005 and 2006 Dell experienced a series of financial shocks. On November 10th 2005 Dell announced quarterly profits had dropped 28%. On May 9th 2006, and again just a few weeks later on 21st July 2006 Dell announced that its earnings would not meet previous guidance. These profit warnings arose from a combination of continued price pressure on margins in the PC business and also the fall-out from its attempts to strip costs out of the business by a) off-shoring customer support functions and b) ending unprofitable aspects of warranty repair. Dells actions created an outburst of anger from customers on the receiving end of this cost cutting. Jeff Jarviss blog was symptomatic of this criticism. Dell responded to their critics by making two major changes: They began by investing an additional $150m in their customer service operations. The result (according to Dell) is that the average waiting time for support calls has come down from nine minutes to three minutes. They launched an official Dell customer services blog (summer 2006) along with two further social media sites Dell Studio and IdeaStorm. Containment On July 31st, Engadget posted photos of a Dell notebook that had caught fire in Singapore. Its comment: Well keep posting these until we see a recall or a solution, so please, Dell, treat them right. By then, Dell was working closely with the government to figure out the scope of the problem. It turned out that the glitch was the same as it had been the previous year: metal particles inside the battery were causing the problems. Apples problems with overheating batteries had been cropping up in the online media during the spring and summer as well. The CPSCs Stern says Sony connected the dots and figured out which of its batteries and which of its customers were affected. After The Inquirer, a European site for computer hardware news, expressed serious concerns about the batteries, Dell and Sony proposed a second recall to the CPSC. On August 13th, writer Theo Valich reported on The Inquirer site that another recall was on the way. Magee said the leak came from a Dell insider, whom he refused to identify. I attribute being on top of the story to old-fashioned print journalism standards-cultivating, and, if youll excuse the pun, not burning such contacts, he says. The formal recall was announced a day later, on August 14th. Once Dell announced the recall, it, too, harnessed the Web to reach out to the disgruntled computing masses. On August 14th, the company set up a Web site (www.dellbatteryprogram.com) telling customers how to get a replacement battery. On its customer-service blog, (www.direct2dell.com), Dell also published some postings from executives and staffers about the recall (Appendix 1). These included blow-by-blow descriptions of Dells response from Alex Gruzen, senior vice-president of the companys Mobility Product Group, and a detailed explanation of how lithium-ion batteries work from Forrest Norrod, vice-president of engineering. The company also elicited dozens of comments from customers, some of whom were plenty irked. On August 15th, George Johnson demanded to know why Chairman Michael Dell hadnt responded to questions about the battery problems at a press conference the previous day in Sydney, Australia. When he was asked about the recent problems and if there were any developments, he did not volunteer the information that a new battery recall was in the works. If he was so concerned about customer safety, why was the announcement held over until after the press conference was over? asked Johnson.   But most people who commented praised Dell for its response. I commend Dell for looking out for the consumer on this issue, wrote Jim Jones. I have been fearful of leaving my system on while unattended. Its nice that I can leave my system on overnight and not have to worry about my house catching fire.   Dell credits the blogosphere for helping it get through the crisis. Information travels around quickly, says spokeswoman Gretchen Miller. Also, its another channel to get the message to our customers so they can be safe.   On August 15th, Dell received more than 50 million hits on https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com, responded to more than 135,000 phone calls and received more than 150,000 battery replacement orders. Dell shipped the first replacement units the day it announced the recall. Dells Corporate Communication/Investor Relations team played a critical role in the implementation of the recall by developing and executing a strategy based on a key central message: Dell had taken aggressive, proactive action to retrieve and replace all suspect batteries with a clear focus on customer safety. The team worked to help key the stakeholders message to customers that the safety of Dells customers was of utmost importance. This message was supported by articulating the benefits of the companys direct business model including: 1) Dells detailed information on units sold to customers, including the units configuration when it shipped to the customer. 2) Dells records of customer contact information, which enabled Dell team members to reach out to customers immediately. 3) Dells close relationship with its suppliers, such as Sony, which enabled the company to identify the problem, diagnose it and find a remedy. By working so closely with suppliers, Dell was able to respond in a way unlike any other company in the industry. Recovery and Turnaround In February 2007 Dell went further and launched IdeaStorm and StudioDell. IdeaStorm allows Dell users to feedback valuable insights about the company and its products and vote for those they find most relevant. StudioDell is a place where Dell users could share videos about Dell-related topics. IdeaStorm has already been the site of an extraordinary exercise in stakeholder democracy the reprieve of Microsofts Windows XP operating system. Have Dell turned the corner? To answer this question Market Sentinel analyzed stakeholders perceptions of Dell customer service. The analysis compares the sentiment of online commentary before and after Dells commercial slump and their new online customer initiatives. We believe that anyone wishing to track the financial prospects of Dell over the next few quarters could do worse than to watch the key metrics on word of mouth. Using the Net Promoters, we identified five key topics of commentary about Dell customer service and placed each post into one of these categories, according to the most central concern expressed (Appendix 2). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Speed (the length of time it takes to get through to someone at the call centre, to get through to the right person to address callers concerns, to get issue resolved, to get problem fixed, to get delivery of items etc.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Off-shoring (customers feelings towards technical supports relocation from USA/UK to India and other countries, especially in relation to language problems) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Errors (inaccuracies in dealing with Dell customer service e.g. wrong items sent, orders lost, incorrect delivery details etc.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Technical Competence (of Dell technical support staff) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ New Initiatives (Direct2Dell, Dell IdeaStorm, StudioDell, engaging directly with bloggers) The distribution of comments about Dell customer service between the categories remained roughly constant in the two years, with the largest share accounted for by general comments, followed by comments about the speed or promptness of service, and then comments about off-shoring. A significant change year-on-year was the number of comments, predominantly positive in tone, which were gathered in the second wave about Dells new customer initiatives. Although this was encouraging, the most immediate conclusion to be drawn from the Dell Net Promoters analysis is that negative commentary outweighs positive commentary across almost all categories. This is not at all unusual for a study of customer service attitudes, as people come to message boards or blogs in search of answers to problems they have failed to solve with the customer support services of the company in question. The tone is therefore somewhat negative. Have Dells actions had any noticeable effect upon online feeling on customer service? The good news for Dell is that opinion has improved overall, but there are still areas for concern. There is a slight improvement in customers feelings about Dells speed of service (up +4) and technical competence (up +1). This improvement is offset by increasing dissatisfaction with the policy of off-shoring technical support (down -12) and with the ongoing problem of order, service and delivery inaccuracies (down -8). However, there are two significant positive shifts in opinion about Dell. The first finding is the positive reception given to Dells new customer initiatives. However, the recent deterioration of Dells customer service had eroded much of the goodwill of the online community. Commentators are wary of show without substance. What will be definitely interesting to see is if Dell does anything with these comments or is this yet another example of a company putting all their efforts trying to make themselves look better instead of actually being better à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦as long as they follow through and put some of the ideas in action. If they dont do this, people will realize that they dont actually have the power to influence the company and Dell is just trying to give that illusion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦if nothing comes out of this youll bring the wrath of khan down on your head The guarded welcome is spelled out clearly by B.L. Ochman on her whatsnextonline.com blog: I dont know if that will make Dells lousy service any better, but it shows they want to listen, and thats where recovery can begin. The second shift in opinion which we found in our analysis is the reduction in the negative comments about Dells customer service. Although the overall mood still appears quite gloomy across all comments, with a Net Promoters Index of -20, this is a considerable improvement on the position 12 months earlier when the Net Promoters Index stood at -38. Changes in the sentiment of commentary seem to lag service delivery. Many of the positive comments which were collected in the first wave of this study traded on the long term legacy of Dell as a provider of best-in-class customer service; the negative comments were more likely to be customers reports of unsatisfactory customer service experiences in the recent past. At the beginning of 2007 negative stories about customer service continued to circulate in message boards and in blogs, but these are now being counterbalanced by those who have more positive stories to tell having benefitted from the effects of Dells re-investment in customer service. It took many years for Dell to establish the reputation for exemplary customer service which it had built up in the years up to 2001, before technical support was off-shored to India and Dell cut back on engineer visits to customers homes. This reputation, as a long term legacy, is still present in some loyal customers minds. But the fallout from Dell Hell means that Dell now has a different and conflicting reputation to deal with poor service from a company which doesnt care about its customers. And it is this reputation which is freshest in the mind. Learning On August 14th, the Associated Press chronicled incidents stretching back to 1999, including, among others, a Lufthansa fire in Chicago, a UPS plane in flames in Philadelphia, and an emergency landing by a plane carrying the then-Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, all apparently the result of computer batteries spontaneous combustion. It did not require great prescience to anticipate that air flight safety would dominate inevitable coverage of the burning batteries and their subsequent recall. The issue should indeed have been a main component of crisis war games at Dell. Once the recall was inevitable, Dell can reasonably have anticipated the necessity to talk loud and clear about air flight safety, and it should have been prepared to do so at the earliest possible moment. By delaying any announcement, Dell harmed its position on multiple fronts. It allowed the Consumer Product Safety Commission to define the story and cloak itself in the garb of public protector. Nor was the agency shy about describing the recall as the largest computer-related recall in history. The magnitude of the disaster became an integral part of the story reported in the first few paragraphs of both the Austin American-Statesman and Wall Street Journal Online on August 15th. Words like largest or first or worst become the story itself.   At the strategic level, theres a best practice called Bad News All At Once predicated on the time-tested wisdom that full and fast disclosure shortens the life of most stories. In fact, the art of both Investor and Consumer Relations supports this best practice almost every time. Investors want nothing more than closure, a sense that a crisis, no matter how multifaceted, will be resolved in the immediate future. Consumers, meanwhile, can be wooed back, but not so easily if the story drags on indefinitely, a new twist on each front page edition.   Bad News All at Once contains bad news in the exact meaning of the word contain. By stanching the flow of revelations, the story is separated from events that may still lie ahead. There are times when major news, like a terrorist plot or a hurricane, can indeed minimize attention to your story. Its a factor to weigh but not simply assume. In Dells case, the terrorist revelation magnified its crisis to an extent that must have been unimaginable when the company first decided to delay. Now theres the Securities and Exchange Commission account practices probe to further elongate the Dell litany. Unlike the terrorist story, this time bomb has been ticking since last year. There may be good practical and legal reasons why Dell did not reveal this material event. On the positive side, Dell seems to have done a better job working with Sony to coordinate a response to the crisis by avoiding the no-win scenario weve seen in the past when major brands blame each other in the national media. Customers do not care who is at fault. They only care that the problem gets fixed.   Even here, Dells performance was, unfortunately, less than perfect. In the opening paragraphs of those August 15th stories, we read that Dell blamed Sony for the problem. Only further down in the Austin story and nowhere in the Journal story does a Dell spokesperson express confidence in Sony. The fact that many other computer manufacturers may face the same product liability represents an opportunity for Dell to offer some sort of industry-wide support to safeguard products. Such an initiative would underscore Dells public safety leadership even as it reminds the world that it is not the only computer company with a problem. It is a company that is resolved to correct the problem and it deserves the recognition for doing so. Here are some basic lessons learned from the Dell laptop battery crisis:   Predict the future. Play war games. Had Dell done so, they might have anticipated that their exploding batteries were an airline disaster story waiting to happen, even without the terrorist plot that ultimately magnified the story. In determining when to disclose, watch for material events and early warning triggering mechanisms that compel public disclosure as soon as possible. Disclosing Bad News All At Once shortens the life of a negative story and contains it by preempting substantive links to other stories. An industry-wide public safety leadership role generalizes the problem beyond your own company. Adjustment of CMP/CCP Dell is reaching out into the world of blogs and user-generated media. Perhaps the most potent and valuable business lesson Dell has absorbed from its experiences lies in the way the company has taken into its business methods the idea of dialogue with its consumers. In the following blog post by Lionel Menchaca Dell digital commerce manager, he outlines in turn each of the advantages of opening a dialogue with customers online. It is worth reprinting the post in full and highlighting the lessons Lionel identifies: 1. Brands can quickly learn about and address, product bugs and issues; 2. Brands can open an additional communication channel for customer service; 3. Brands have to listen to their consumers and that means monitoring the web; 4. Brands can use blogs to help manage crisis communication; 5. Brands can enhance off-line conversations with consumers based on what they have learnt online; 6. Brands have to be honest and admit it when they get it wrong. Dell said: Our policy [towards blogs] in the past may have been look, dont touch. Today, its more like listen, and join the conversation the right way (Appendix 3). Conclusion The Dell Corporate Communications/Investor Relations teams focus was to engage key media, such as the New York Times, CNBC, and leading regional media, to ensure a wide distribution of the key messages. Within the first 12 hours of the recall, a Dell executive participated in interviews with the Today Show and Bloomberg TV and later in the process worked with global outlets such as BBC World News. Members of the Corporate Communications/Investor Relations team from around the world briefed industry analysts and responded to a number of inquiries from TV, radio, newspaper and wire services. The team faced challenges in responding to the volume of the media requests and with the expected quick turnaround of information. Team members across communications disciplines responded to help. The story shifted when Apple followed Dells recall 10 days later. At that time, none of the other PC manufacturers had made any statement that they could have been impacted by the same contaminated battery packs. Ultimately, Lenovo, Toshiba and Fujitsu also announced recalls, and eight weeks after the Dell announcement, Sony announced the recall of batteries used in its VAIO notebook line. Within 60 days after the recall launch, the story evolved from the initial but inaccurate perception that the battery issue was solely a Dell issue to the accurate story that the Sony battery cells were the sole cause of the issue. In the process, Dell became a model for Performance of Guggenheim Investments: An Analysis Performance of Guggenheim Investments: An Analysis Research Purpose This research aims to analyze and evaluate six different funds and their benchmarks and risk-free rates in order to compare the overall performance of the funds from Guggenheim Investments and the selected funds from three different asset managers. Research Design The research involved 60 monthly observations (from January 2012 to December 2016) to analyze the performance of the Guggenheim Investments and the selected different asset managers, Aberdeen, Wells Fargo, and Pimco, which were selected from the top 500 global asset manager (Towers Watson, 2016).   Three funds from Guggenheim Investments and three more funds from each asset manager, in total of six funds, were selected with similar investment strategies Small-Cap Blend, Mid-Cap Value and Large-Cap Blend for the consistency of the analysis.   The performance would be measured in term of return and risk based on statistical and financial theory.   The performance will be measured in term of return, risk and ratio. Findings All of the fund from Guggenheim Investments, from the results in this research, perform worse than the competitors funds in many ways. The ratios analysis shows lower level of risk rewarding from the poorer management of risk, the funds also generated lower level of return throughout the observation period. Furthermore, the regression analysis shows that all of the fund in this research utilize Fama French model effectively, but the competitors funds also utilized Carhart 4 Factors Model, incorporating the momentum factor which makes them perform better than the funds from Guggenheim Investments. Research Limitations Due to the small observation size, the daily and weekly volatility were ignored from this research.   In term of data quality, using OLS regression may not be efficient to analyze the data as the data consisted with unit-root, which was caused by the price drift. Research Implication The research should provide a good example of how could an investor conduct the statistical analysis of fund performance analysis using E-View 9 and Microsoft Excel.   The result of the research could support the investor, in term of analysis and decision making, to include funds as an asset class into their portfolio. Mutual fund has been around for many decades and is becoming more popular in both developed and emerging markets. As the mutual fund is managed by professional fund managers, it unlock many good features that non-professional investors desire such as well diversified portfolio, access to highly priced securities like bluechip stocks, infrastructure and real estates, or tracking any particular index which required a lot of money. Many mutual funds are provided by asset management companies, some are doing good, some are doing bad. The performance evaluation can be difficult for individual investors that are not specialized in this area of work. This research aim to provide basic knowledge and example of assessing the performance of mutual funds, both in terms of risk and return, to simplify this process for every investor in order for them to effectively and efficiently invest in mutual funds. Data Collection All of the numbers in this research including total return index of each fund and their benchmark, risk free rate are collected from Bloomberg Terminal. The funds fact sheets are directly downloaded from the asset managers website. The benchmarks that are used in this research are selected by using the same benchmark stated in the Guggenheim Investments fact sheets as the main benchmark. Three more supporting benchmark are selected by using the same category from MSCI, Russel, and SP. The Fama French and Momentum factor are collect from the data library of Tuck Business School at Dartmouth. Data Preparation After the data collection, they were processed via Excel Spreadsheet to apply the formulas in order to evaluate the performance of the funds, as well as several statistics.   In addition, the processed data from Excel would be exported to E-View 9 to estimate the regression model to apply CAPM, Fama French and Carhart Model. (Table 1 Funds Overview) According to the funds fact sheets, all the fund is passively managed as the funds objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation. The funds are also investing only in the United States of America. In this research, I additionally use Bloomberg category to match the characteristic of the funds in order to make a more distinctive and more consistent comparison of the similar funds. The main asset manager in this research is Guggenheim Investment and the comparable funds are from Aberdeen, Wells Fargo, and Pimco. The tables below show the statistical data of the funds in terms of simple calculated excess return and log calculated excess return. The returns can be calculated as the followings; The Average Logged Return   The monthly return of the fund and risk-free rate were calculated into logged return in order to calculate time-consistent return. The Arithmetic Mean Excess Return The Arithmetic Mean Excess Return can be calculated by deduct the country risk free rate, in this case US 3-month T-Bill Rate, from the return of the portfolio. (Table 2: Simple Return Statistic) (Table 3 Log Return Statistic) From the tables, we can observe that the funds from Guggenheim Investment generated lower return than the competitors and also have higher downside risk, which is semi-standard deviation. We will further observe the trend of each fund and its competitor and how it performs against the benchmark in these line graphs. (Figure 1 Performance Comparison: SSUAX) This line graph above and the following two graphs are calculated by setting the starting point as 100, and then increase exponentially with the excess return in that period. The illustration shows that both SSUAX and GSXAX effectively track the benchmark from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2014. After that point, SSUAX started to underperform the benchmark and GSXAX started to outperform the benchmark. The trend tends to persist to the present. (Figure 2 Performance Comparison: SEVAX) The graph above show the strong underperforming trend of SEVAX, while CBMAX can effectively replicate the benchmark since the starting point of the observations. However, both funds still have the same pattern as the benchmark. This should due to difference in the weight of the assets allocation. (Figure 3 Performance Comparison: SECEX) This graph illustrate that PSPAX slightly outperform the benchmark for almost the whole period of the observation, while SECEX still able to replicate the pattern of the benchmark but slightly underperform the benchmark. Standard Deviation and Variance As the widely used mean dispersion or volatility measurement (Lhabitant, 2006), the variance and standard deviation capture the risk of an investment over time.   The larger the dispersion means the greater the value of both variance and standard deviation. With Microsoft Excel, the function STDEV.S() was used to calculate sample standard deviation from the logged return. Semi-Variance and Semi-Standard Deviation Focus only the downside, Semi-Variance and Semi-Standard Deviation present the downside risk of the distribution in term of dispersion to mean. Drawdown Risk Maximum Drawdown simply measures the largest percentage change between the peak price and low price during a specific period of an investment. Shortfall Risk Shortfall Risk measures the downside risk in term of probability that the downside will occur. Value at Risk The Value at Risk measures the maximum loss that a portfolio can be expected within an observation interval at a specified confidence level for example 95% or 99%.   Within this research, two type of method are introduced, the historical VaR and normal distribution VaR, where the confidence level was specified according to the historical distribution and normal distribution respectively. (Table 4 Risk Measurements) For small-cap and mid-cap funds, Guggenheim Investments tend to suffer from higher risk than its competitors as they have higher values in most of the risk measurements used in this research. On the other hand, the large-cap fund of Guggenheim Investments has better risk management than the competitor in all perspective. These risk measurements will affect the risk rewarding ratios in the next section. The ratios shown in this analysis can be calculated as the followings, Information Ratio    average excess return of the portfolio over the market benchmark return    standard deviation of The ratio is used to compare with the Sharpe Ratio of the asset as the Information Ratio is considered as the benchmarks Sharpe Ratio.   By comparing the asset Sharpe Ratio with Information Ratio, the higher Sharpe Ratio in compare to Information Ratio represent that the asset is outperforming the benchmark (Deborah, 2011). Sterling Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate average minimum drawdown over the observation period The ratio has similar meaning to reward-to-risk ratio.   It is used to measure the ability of the fund manager to control their risk to lower the portfolio drawdown. The Sterling Ratio as well as the following Burke Ratio are widely advertised by commodity trading advisors, who wish to highlight their perceived skill in letting profits run and cutting losses. Burke Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate sum square root of the minimum drawdown over the observation period The Burke Ratio assumes an investor to experience an increasing instead of a linear incremenal disutility as reaction to a one unit increase in drawdown. Sortino Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate semi standard deviation of This ratio considers the lower partial moment in the second moment, the semi-standard deviation, to measure the risk-premium of the asset in comparison to the downside volatility of that asset. Kappa 1 average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate semi-mean of excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate Kappa 3 average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate semi-skewness of excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate Treynor Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate sensitivity of the portfolio with the market The ratio considers the risk premium of the asset in compare to systematic component of an assets risk (Spaulding, n.d.). (Table 5 Risk Rewarding Ratios) From the table above, it is clearly shown that funds from Guggenheim Investment are highly inferior to its competitors in terms of risk rewarding return of every aspects, especially the information ratio, which measure how the fund outperform the benchmark. In this case, all Guggenheim Investment fund have highly negative information ratio, this shows that all the funds are underperformed the benchmark, which further confirmed the graph from previous section. We can conclude that the small-cap and mid-cap funds of the competitors can outperform the similar funds from Guggenheim Investment mainly because of the better risk management when the higher return further boost the ratios even higher. For the large-cap fund, although fund from Guggenheim Investments has a better risk management, it still suffer from lower return generated by itself, which make its risk rewarding ratios lower than its competitor. In this research, I run the regression based on the following models using EView, The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) The CAPM and the SML are included in the research to predict the expected relationship between the risk and return.   Using E-View, if the result from model (see appendix ) in term of ÃŽÂ ±_i or Jensen Alpha shows positive and significant, the asset is said to outperform the market benchmark and vice vesa. Fama French 3 Factors Model By applying some market anomalies to support the model, Fama-French Model included the empirical evidence that small stocks could outperform the large stocks and the high book value to market value stocks could also outperform the low ratio stocks. In this research, two factors that were included in addition to the CAPM model are the SMB (Small Minus Big) and HML (High Minus Low). Carhart 4 Factors Model   By applying more market anomalies to support the model, Carhart Model included the empirical evidence that the winner security will keep winning and the loser will keep losing, one factors that were included in addition to the Fama French model is the MOM (Momentum). (Table 6 CAPM Regressions) (Table 7 Fama French 3 Factors Regressions) (Table 8 Carhart 4 Factors Regressions) (Table 9 Correlation Matrix) From the regression tables above, we can see that most of the intercepts of the model are insignificant, indicate that the fund cannot outperform the benchmark. However, there are some intercepts that are statistically significant, but the value of those intercepts are very less likely to deviate from the benchmark, which make the decision whether the fund outperform or underperform the market becomes more difficult. We can further discuss more about this with the correlation tables, the tables show that the funds, both from Guggenheim Investment and from the competitors, have strong positive correlation (more than 0.95) with its own benchmark. From this point, we can imply that it is very difficult for these funds to outperform or underperform their benchmark due to the highly-correlated characteristic of them. In fact, we can say that these funds are doing well in tracking their benchmark. For Fama French model regression, the values are mostly significant when regress against its own factors, and not significant when regress with the other benchmarks. Furthermore, the regression results from this model confirm each fund objective and strategy. For SSUAX, the values for SMB are positively significant, which means that the small stocks are dominated in the portfolio, the values for HML are slightly positive and significant, meaning that the value stocks are also in the asset allocation of the funds. The Carhart 4 Factors Model regressions for this fund did not show any significant value for the MOM factor. As for GSXAX, the regression results are quite not clear, as we have both positively and negatively significant value of SMB and HML in the different regression. I therefore conclude that Fama French 3 Factors Model cannot effectively explain this fund. After using Carhart 4 Factors Model, the result shows the positively significant values for Market Risk Premium, SMB, HML, and MOM. This may conclude that the fund utilize the same strategies as SSUAX, but by following the momentum of the stocks makes this fund outperform SSUAX, which does not utilize the factor. SEVAX and CBMAX have the similar characteristic to SSUAX and GSXAX, this may due to the funds have closely related choice of investment for being mid-cap and small-cap funds respectively. The regression result still confirm that these two funds mainly invest in small, value stock as SMB and HML are positively significant. However, CBMAX has some evidence of incorporating momentum factor, as the MOM values are negatively significant, indicate that the fund is short selling the loser stocks. This may also help explain why CBMAX outperform SEVAX that does not effectively utilize momentum factor. SECEX and PSPAX can also be explained by Fama French 3 Factors Model, as the values for SMB and HML factors are all significant, but negatively. This as well confirm the investment strategies of these funds that mainly invest in big-cap stocks that lean toward growth style. We can also determine why PSPAX performs better than SECEX by looking into Carhart 4 Factors Model. PSPAX has positively significant MOM value indicated that it incorporated momentum factor in the strategy when SECEX does not. Noted that all model has very high level of adjusted r-squared, which means that the estimates are fitted and reliable. All of the fund from Guggenheim Investments cannot outperform the competitors funds. The funds show poorer risk measurement which result in worse risk rewarding ratio. The regression analysis indicate that the funds also have poorer choice of asset allocation compare with the competitors. The use of Carhart 4 Factors Model clearly shown strong evidence of higher return as seen in the competitors funds. In the funds selection, the investors should not only consider the return, but should also consider the level of risk that one is willing to take in order to match each individual risk profile and maximize ones the utility. Appendix 1: Fund Fact Sheets SSUAX http://fulfillment.marketpowerweb.com/showpdf-sku.cfg?clientcode=rdxsku=SGIFS-SCVA SEVAX http://fulfillment.marketpowerweb.com/showpdf-sku.cfg?clientcode=rdxsku=SGIFS-SMCV SECEX http://fulfillment.marketpowerweb.com/showpdf-sku.cfg?clientcode=rdxsku=GIFS-QTR-SLCC GSXAX http://www.aberdeen-asset.us/doc.nsf/Lit/FactsheetUSOpenSmallCap CBMAX https://www.wellsfargofunds.com/assets/edocs/fact-sheet/equity-fund/cb-mid-cap-value-retail.pdf PSPAX https://www.pimco.com/handlers/displaydocument.ashx?c=693390403wd=Fund%20Fact%20Sheetfn=StocksPLUS%20Fund%20Institutional.pdfid=JJRUIU9YBGygdBZkoxEM7%2b9RTHXIxyZIw0T%2bDne2n4UiurFgvuWSI8U3wKrDgiR8kjwOaIhElyjPQMcsZ%2bacURlLGpyqDSkrerDNZSiUec1YccO167PpDiuxswUDimVQPGA3zF19hjqoyfUcbclAy6QGDvzW7jER5g0rHppMRCXw703Hec%2bRG7KS%2fxoNdq5X%2bSjJwmdqQmUxuiAz3vlHMWzvm6AuGcBMvm21xM%2byPTeKc0imjl19hPI6kgDYi4pvkIWF4XaSXGC0Freoikh1YeOJlv6DRnEAICWDdyOS1bGFTMAt9JLXeE1YpNtVmWJlatcNbvkEsFiINtBzcupchii02oWEi0VYYMm6kkgLZr%2fAWYpymqhkFshcCdH5SgFvTOY9sv5cj6nt9YakDxDe6lTPMwDnUGIKX3H8b39X0JMtY6B3Y6f8HSGl5ylRsRIh Appendix 2: Assets Allocation Bodie, Z.; Kane, A. 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