Research Korner

Accounting for Structured Financial Deals

Structured finance is a terminology used to illustrate a sector of finance management analysis which seeks to solve risk management through transference via complex corporate and legal channels. The securitization of different financial resources such as credit card receivables, auto loans, and mortgages among others, has contributed to the aperture of opportunities to new resources of financial accommodations for the company’s market.Structured finance may also refer to formations created by financial institutions such as banks, to vouch for collateral investments and physical developments in real estate. This structure aims to differentiate debt and equity elements of real estate. The loan compositions of this system are the actual current valuation of the leased cash influx and outflux. The equity composition of this system is the valuation of the real estate at the termination of the lease period. This process, however, does not neglect the significance of tax exemptions and benefits[1].Securitization is one important factor to this concept of structured financing. It is employed to generate a collection of assets which are utilized in creating an advent for the production of other financial apparati.  Tranching is another significant concept in this matter. It is considered as the system which defines the classification and fragmentation of various investment classes which are securitized in the creation of the structure of the financial movement."A key goal of the tranching process is to create at least one class of securities whose rating is higher than the average rating of the underlying collateral pool or to create rated securities from a pool of unrated assets. This is accomplished through the use of credit support (enhancement), such as prioritization of payments to the different tranches.”<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">[2]Credit enhancement is another factor in this system. It is the main component in the recipe for attaining a security asset when a company attempting the acquisition has a lower rating than the company producing the security asset. Subordinate bonds can be fabricated and doled out in order for credit enhancement to be generated. Credit ratings are also significant to assess in the structuring of financial activities of a specific company.This issue first arose at the third quarter of the year 2002 at the onset of the problems which were experienced by Enron and other financial institutions who have utilized the system of structured financial management. It has stirred law-makers and the judiciary alike to challenge the effectiveness of such complex financial activities. Because of this, suggestions on getting leverage on the concentration of special-purpose entities (SPEs) utilized in structured finance operations<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">[3]. The actual quandary may be pointed to lie in the existing accounting laws that neglect to take into consideration a number of the contracts wherein SPEs are commonly engaged in. One example of these is executor contracts, these are contracts in which the agreeing sides have yet to consolidate their actions and finalize the merger.In conclusion, these problems may be seen to lie on the neglect of the performing financial institutions to consider the many factors which affect their decisions and actions and the corresponding consequences of the decisions and actions they make. Structured financial systems may have strong points in its compositions, but provide many loop holes as well which requires attention which, if ignored, may lead to the fall-down of the very institutions themselves.  ReferencesBank for International Settlements 2005, The role of ratings in structured finance: issues and implications, Bank for International Settlements, United States of AmericaEvans, K 2001, ‘Structured finance in the South African real estate marjet: who are the winners – borrowers or lender?’, PhD Thesis, University of Cape Town, Cape TownRyan, S 2002, ‘How should accounting cope with structured finance?’, in Financial instruments and institutionsL accounting and disclosure, John Wiley & Sons, United States of America  [1] Evans, K 2001, ‘Structured finance in the South African real estate marjet: who are the winners – borrowers or lender?’, PhD Thesis, University of Cape Town, Cape Town[2] Bank for International Settlements 2005, The role of ratings in structured finance: issues and implications, Bank for International Settlements, United States of America<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">[3]Ryan, S 2002, ‘How should accounting cope with structured finance?’, in Financial instruments and institutionsL accounting and disclosure, John Wiley & Sons, United States of America

Accounting for Structured Financial Deals

Structured finance is a terminology used to illustrate a sector of finance management analysis which seeks to solve risk management through ...

The Parole and Probation in the United States

Introduction This paper intends to look into the past and present condition of the parole and probation in the United States. A part of the criminal justice system is the possible relapse of rehabilitated offenders after they have been released from custody based on parole. This is a pressing issue in the country considering the increase of those in probation. This issue is going to be discussed in the later part of the study. The discussion in this context is going to be based on parole and probation’s impact on society.   Status of Parole and Probation in the United States   Based on the work of Glaze and Palla (2004) both the population under probation and parole increased significantly in 2003. On the probation population, it had a 1.2% growth in 2003. Although this indicates that there is still an increase in the population under probation, it still have appositive aspect on it considering that the said increase is less than half of the trend of 2.9% increase every year since 1995.     On the other hand, the country’s parole population similarly increased by 3.1%. This denotes that there were a considerable number of individuals under custody who have been able to rehabilitate through the correctional system provided by the government. This figure is considerably especial since, similar to the probation mark; it is almost twice the average growth. Normally, the growth is 1.7% yearly since 1995.     Discussion   Many elected officers in addition to the public, have traditionally been indecisive in their support for conventional probation and parole agendas. (Doble et al, 1991) Similarly, the account of probation and parole is full of debate on the subject of the degree to which it is as important to crime prevention, justice and public safety as are other elements of the criminal justice system. (Dickey and Smith, 1998) Without a doubt, even the probation and parole vocation itself has frequently undergone internal philosophical partitions about its mission and function. (Clear and Rumgay, 1992)   Throughout the 90s, there was a substantial and understandable boost in professional partnerships involving probation and parole agencies and other criminal justice system elements. This significant development in the direction of criminal justice system inclusion and teamwork is, all together, vital to the success of the vocation and a possible foundation for concealing the identity and function. To preserve its professional identity as a practical public security agenda, probation and parole have to cleave to and advertise its involvements to justice, crime deterrence and public protection. These outcomes are appreciated by the public and, if highlighted by means of policies and practices, will guarantee probation and parole's due position in the spectrum of criminal justice services that are financed by both public and private entities. Devoid of the theoretical limitations granted by a results-motivated vision for particular results, the dynamics of governments and politics, instead of scientific proof and strong theory, build the certainty of the performance of probation and parole. Furthermore, in the brand new world of collaborative partnerships, probation and parole is merely as about to acquire the identity of its partners as to preserve its own professional identity as equivalent associates and not an auxiliary or worse considered utility within the criminal justice system.   Furthermore, probation and parole is a substance of severe importance; it interrelates with issues of life, death, damage and charge to the public. (Rhine and Paparozzi, 1999) Eventually, the worth of probation and parole services will have need of the solidification of the connection involving policies, programs and practices, in addition to the operationalization of result variables that are pertinent to public policy. (Rhine and Paparozzi, 1999) For the previous forty years, probation and parole has endured many, and ostensibly complex, frequency of professional practices. Predominantly, the practice has been strengthened by a collection of theoretical models. Ever since the earlier parts of the 60s to the present, there have been several distinguishable philosophies. These include offender rehabilitation which was evident in the later part of the 60s to the middle part of the 70s. Another is offender punishment and justice for the injured parties. This is prevalent in the middle part of the 70s and in the earlier part of the 80s. A third kind is intermediate measures, punishments and treatment involvements. This was practiced during the middle part of the 80s up until the later part of the 90s. A more current theory is community participation, interagency teamwork and offender re-entry.   Despite expansive conformity from professional insiders, in addition to those external the profession on the subject of the weight of generating valued results, there has been strong practitioner clash relating to the actual institution of strategies, programs and practices whose task, objectives and purposes guarantee that necessary assumptions concerning value to be considered before agendas are planned and executed. (Dickey and Smith, 1998)   In reaction to demands for verifiable value, probation and parole organizations have in recent years come to believe a couple of insightful alterations in the manner that they institute programs and confirm policies and practices for offender management. One is to establish best practices in evidence-based outcomes whenever feasible. Another is to create user-friendly information for lawmakers that give emphasis to outcome over process. The acceptance of the terms of best practices and results has positioned the profession at the verge of what can be best characterized as a business paradigm. However, rather than guaranteeing utmost total shareholder value, as is the condition in thriving companies, probation and parole professionals are summoned to guarantee utmost total taxpayer value.   There has been far-reaching research carried out at the domestic and global levels that has recognized correctional agendas that lessen offender recidivism. (Gendreau, 1996) In spite of this far-reaching and mounting organization of knowledge, and it’s tremendously positive public protection connotations, a lot of elected officials and the public continue to be aggravated with probation and parole at the domestic level. Possibly, this frustration is drawn from the letdown of domestic practitioners to offer understandable evaluative information with reference to the agendas. The nonattendance of understandable and believable program assessment information institutes the basis for ideologically determined, as contrasting to the more favored evidence-found courses of action, agendas and practices.   Certainly, a vigorous professional admiration for research confirmation would bring about the formulation of policies and practices that would reiterate offender rehabilitation as the favored plan for acquiring long-standing public protection. Such a confirmation may even serve up to dispel the contentions as to the effectiveness of rehabilitative in opposition to punishment plans for acquiring public safety. The assertion of rehabilitation in this context has need of a continuing expression of the positive connection involving rehabilitation-founded offender management and individual offender recidivism tolls. Devoid of a practical involvement of offender rehabilitation to public security, the issue of utmost total taxpayer value continues to be unrequited.   For the reason that probation and parole is concentrating on best practices and results, the public protection advantages of offender rehabilitation strategies are receiving a re-evaluation. The proof is obvious; if notice is given to the kind and quality of solid, reasonable and responsible rehabilitation services to offenders, there will be a reduction in their re-arrest frequency. (Gendreau, 1996) Firm advocates of a rehabilitation schedule are fast to indicate recent public opinion developments sustaining alternatives to imprisonment. Nevertheless, a more evenhanded understanding of the developments in public opinion in this context points out that even as a preponderance of the American public espouses the employment of alternatives for specific kinds of offenders, they still desire firm and responsible alternatives that bear punishment-founded outcomes for offender disobedience. (Harlow et al., 1995) That is to say, the public desires, to some extent, vengeful justice.      Probation and parole's answer to the punishment schema was to some extent steep. Beginning in the 1980s, the area struggled to spruce up and repackage its laws, programs and practices in means that were considered to be in agreement with the existing punishment program. (Harlow et al, 1995) In brief, it was deemed that amplified employment of disciplinary practices would do what rehabilitation measures could not carry out. This means it could not boost public protection and in so doing make the most of the total taxpayer value. The whole variety of intermediate penalties and punishment agendas is evidence to the profession's shift clear of offender rehabilitation. The central rule features of these programs incorporated such practices as thorough surveillance by means of improved offender contacts; firm offender responsibility; concentration on negative outcomes for disobedience with regulations to the leaving out of positive returns for displaying suitable actions; and dutiful attempts to offer medical services to probationers and parolees.   These ground-breaking and supposed public protection probation and parole schemes appeared to take pleasure in the support from outer and inner stakeholders. Program reputation, nonetheless, was more a purpose of philosophy than empirical detail (Rhine and Paparozzi, 1999) And, at the same time as the program plans mollified the vengeful justice attitudes of much of the people, their program assessment results unquestionably recognized that such programs possesses no influence on individual offender recidivism and it has a unconstructive influence. Moreover, the augmented costs of these focused punishment-motivated measures created no public safety advantage.   Conclusion   All through the recent past, probation and parole has perceived the launch of partnerships with law enforcement agencies, civic organizations, social service providers and similar organizations. These partnerships, dissimilar to the previous iterations of them in the intermediary phase, are proper partnerships in the context that the shared influence of probation and parole professionals is not passive to other criminal justice associates.   In the up-and-coming collaborative diagram, probation and parole is frequently leaned on for management for attending to crime as a community-founded social dilemma. Taking into account the foundational community-founded derivations of probation and parole, it is very fitting that the profession guide and notify discussions in relation to best practices in this context. Probation and parole has provided new connotation to the ideas of assembling human and social capital in high-crime regions.   References   Clear, T.R. and J. Rumgay. (1992) Divided by a common language: British and American probation cultures. Federal Probation. 3(1):3-11. Dickey, W. and M. Smith. (1998) Rethinking probation. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs Publication. Doble, J., S. Immerwahr and A. Richardson. (1991) Punishing criminals: The people of Delaware consider the options. New York: The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. Gendreau, P. (1996) Offender rehabilitation: What we know and what needs to be done. Criminal Justice and Behavior. 23:144-161. Glaze, L., and Palla, S. (2004) Probation and Parole in the United States, 2003. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ppus03.pdf . [Accessed 23/03/06] Harlow, R.E., J.M. Darley and P.H. Robinson. (1995) The severity of intermediate penal sanctions: A psychophysical scaling approach for obtaining community perceptions. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 11(1):71-95. Rhine, E. and M. Paparozzi. (1999) Reinventing probation and parole: A matter of consequence. Corrections Management Quarterly, 3(2):47-52.

The Parole and Probation in the United States

Introduction This paper intends to look into the past and present condition of the parole and probation in the United States. A part of ...

Truth and Meaning

Truth and meaning is conceded by philosophers of language and recently by linguists that a satisfactory theory of meaning must give an account of how the meanings of sentences depend upon the meanings of words.  There would be no explaining the fact that we can learn the language: no explaining the fact that on mastering a finite vocabulary and a finitely stated set of rules, we are prepared to produce and to understand any of potential infinitude of sentences.The point will emerge if we think for a moment of complex singular terms, to which Frege’s theory applies along with sentences. Consider the expression “the father of Annette” how does the meaning of the whole depend on the meaning of the parts? The answer would be that the meaning of “the father of” is such that when this expression is prefixed to a singular term the result refers to the father of the person to whom the singular term refers. All we can think to say is the entity yields or gives the father of x as value when the argument is x or perhaps the entity maps people on their fathers. On the other hand, it is now evident that a satisfactory theory of the meanings of complex expressions may not require entities as meanings of all the parts. It behoves to rephrase our demand on a satisfactory theory of meaning so as not to suggest that individual words must have meanings at all, in any sense that transcends the fact that they have a semantic effect on the meanings of the sentences they occur. The theory clearly suggests an effective procedure for determining, for any singular term in its universe. Clearly some more articulate way of referring to meanings than any we have seen is essential if criteria are to be met. Meanings as entities or the related concepts of synonymy allow people to formulate rules relating to sentences and its parts for example, sentences are synonymous whose corresponding parts are synonymous. The one thing meanings do not seem to do is oil the wheels of a theory of meaning that is a theory that it nontrivially gives the meaning of every sentence in the language. There is no need to suppress the obvious connection between definition truths of the kind of Tarski has shown how to construct and the concept of meaning. The definition works by giving necessary and sufficient conditions for the truth of every sentence and to give truth conditions is a way of giving the meaning of a sentence.   To know the semantic concept of truth for a language is to know what it is for a sentence, ay sentence to be true and in good sense people can give to the phrase, to understanding the language.A theory of meaning is an empirical theory and its ambition is to account for the workings of a natural language. It may be tested by comparing some of its consequences with the facts. In the process, the concept of truth when applied to colloquial language in conjunction with the normal laws of logic leads inevitably to confusions and contradictions. In spite of difficulties to pursue the semantics of colloquial language with the help of methods will be driven first to undertake the thankless task of language reform regarding colloquial language.  Indeed, there are all the sentences that seem not to have truth values at all, the imperatives, the interrogatives and a lot more. A comprehensive theory of meaning for a natural language must successfully cope with various issues concerning to the truth and meaning of a language.

Truth and Meaning

Truth and meaning is conceded by philosophers of language and recently by linguists that a satisfactory theory of meaning must give an accou...

Critically discuss the ways in which counseling theories can inform and support a healthcare/ social care practioner's intervention strategies.

INTRODUCTION           Ideally, it can be that counselling theories do inform and support healthcare practitioners in such intervention and strategy the practitioner wishes to use and apply effectively within the healthcare setting such as for example, those that relates to health promotion activities as the health practitioner is amiably expected to improve community health such as through encouraging people to commence at the same time develop certain health promoting behaviors and to avoid cases of health damaging behaviors. The counseling approaches in action do provide healthcare practitioners simple yet effective processes and ways to improve their craft in such field they are involved with and thus allowing healthcare practitioners to think as well as plan out precisely of the things they are required to do in a specific situation for instance, within such health consultation sessions, the approaches would probably help these practitioners to concentrate on a particular therapy that can be relevant and helpful to such case situation as deemed possible. Thus, making them successful in providing appropriate health interventions as needed and provide ways to make such changes or adjustments in systematic and organized manner.     DISCUSSION           There can be such suggestions that perhaps can be possibly missing for several health practitioners that may involve such specific skills pointing to such approaches as the counselling ways will then knowledge that is required to systematize such counselling theories and models like, in certain areas of health promotion for example, which amicably measure the healthcare practitioners' ability to apply and execute such theory for a particular health intervention. Aside, it can be such concern, however, that the practitioners may recognize and consider such theory like, motivational theory to be helpful in the earlier stages of the process. There can also be established health promotion theories and models as such fact that practitioners would perceive that such approach will be utilized effectively across such range of therapeutic actions and behavior within variety of health care settings and the intuitive logic of useful elements found within each theory’s level of effectiveness upon usage and realization of goals as practitioners learn to assess and evaluate the process into such controlled situation. The health care practitioner’s understanding of the counselling theories is imperative as it do enable them to be sure that they have certain share, at the same time more deliberate and accurate, understanding of such theoretical approaches from within such functionality.             The healthcare practitioner adheres to such ideals that the usage of such approaches is equally important and crucial in increasing their knowledge and practical skills needed in order for them to be reliable in assessing and interpreting such outcomes such as those pointing towards health care examination and tests in lieu to psychological and clinical assumptions and that, it can be that by measuring there will be determination of certain theory extent to which the approaches are appropriately used and foster the degree of professionalism of health care practitioners. Moreover, certain information could then be used to develop `best practice' guidelines for counselling process, including such comprehensive explanation of the theory that is understandable to the practitioner and his clients within series of theory applications to demonstrate how these can be applied to diverse health care interventions as duly integrated by the practitioner.             Furthermore, one good example pointing to such ways could be the use of the intervention mapping process (Cited from, Bartholomew et al., 2001) in which there is providing of useful tool for health care practitioners in application of such theory into an integrated health program and its design. Thus, in the Intervention Mapping, the practitioner starts by identifying the question to be answered and brainstorming certain list of potential determinants of the problem. It is at this stage that the practitioner, armed with the list of determinants and related constructs, returns to the literature to identify relevant theoretical concepts. In this way the practitioner can use the theoretical constructs to answer the question posed and identify additional constructs that may increase the explanatory power of the proposed answers. (Cited from, Bartholomew et al., 2001) In order to increase the appropriate use of theory in health care practice the practitioner will need to use several techniques and strategies as applied upon changing the behavior of those involved in intervention process from within ideal counselling approaches for a valid indication of health care programs and activities respectively.               Practitioners being also professionals in most settings find that they provide good counseling therapy in accordance with their education, training as desired amiably for such itemized needs of their clients. In current usage, the terms tend to be used arguably will be depending on the service setting. Thus, during counseling sessions, it can be that the health care practitioner applies his or her expertise to benefit each recipient, directing them to use information in such way that serves best in everyday life. Then, the practitioner's skills should be supported by theoretical models found with the aspects of such functionality underlying better ways that are working well in informing good health care practice as needed as possible. (Cited from, Bartholomew et al., 2001) Although the practitioner needs some advanced knowledge in the field for specific health and or mental related condition, one of the goal can be, is to offer generic approach to lifestyle behavior change directed towards unfamiliar patterns of behavior for instance, there ways that is associated with increased risk of health issues and problems faced by the practitioner.                However, health care practitioners who are open to certain integrative perspective will find that several theories play crucial role in their personal counseling approach. Believing that every theory has its unique contributions and its own domain of expertise. By accepting that each theory has strengths and weaknesses and can be peculiar from the others, practitioners have some basis to begin developing theory that fits for them. It is important to emphasize that unless practitioners have an accurate, as well as in-depth knowledge of theories, they cannot formulate true synthesis. Simply put this into consideration, practitioners cannot integrate what they do not know (Cited from, Norcross and Newman, 1992). The challenge really is, for practitioners to think and practice integratively and critically through developing integrative perspective into lifelong endeavor that is validated and refined with ample professional experience.     CONCLUSION           In conclusion, one health care practitioner has frequent opportunities to help patients clarify issues and alter adverse behavior patterns because of ample understanding and skills towards such counselling approaches from within their area. The formulations of ideal framework within counseling notions do possibly clarify core principle and tasks for the health practitioners that amiably represent properly the needed requirements for successful counseling. Therefore, some situations respond to brief advice, others require several repeated counseling sessions utilizing concepts from behavioral theory, and certain ones need referral to structured counseling program that employs longer timeframe and allows for the opportunity to use range of method assisting healthcare practitioners to successfully reach their clients. The practitioners would do well to consider their own personal style in the process of developing their integrative approach.               The art of integrative counseling implies that there are no prefabricated models that fit any practitioner perfectly. Instead, the challenge is to customize counseling approach that is tailored for each practitioner. Then, as an outcome counselling theories do inform that the practitioners should give careful consideration to limitations of their training and experience and work within these limits, taking advantage of available professional support. If work with clients requires the provision of additional services operating in parallel with counselling, the availability of such services ought to be taken into account, as their absence may constitute significant limitation. Also, it informs practitioners to ensure that services delivered have to be base on the client’s clear consent. The increasing availability of counselling approaches means that most practitioners have other practitioners working in their locality from within multidisciplinary teams respectively thus, increasing better insights as well as expertise in health service oriented relationships as the practitioners have ample responsibility within themselves to ensure that their work does not become detrimental to their well-being by ensuring safe work environment and duly look for appropriate professional support and services to maintain high knowledge and understanding of certain skills.     REFERENCE Bartholomew, L.K., Parcel, G.S., Kok, G. and Gottlieb, N.H. (2001), “Intervention Mapping”, Mayfield, Mountain View, CA   Norcross, J. C., & Newman, C. F. (1992), “Psychotherapy integration: Setting the context”. In J. C. Norcross & M. R. Goldfried (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy integration (pp. 3–45). New York: Basic Books

Critically discuss the ways in which counseling theories can inform and support a healthcare/ social care practioner's intervention strategies.

INTRODUCTION Ideally, it can be that counselling theories do inform and support healthcare practitioners in such interven...

TOURISM IN UK

Introduction   Tourism has continued to be an essential component of development planning in nations. In some instances tourism has been perceived as a redeemer to sluggish industries, generating new connections and demands. Specifically, the diverse subdivisions of the tourism industry, such as hospitality, catering, food and beverages, tours, recreational activities and the entertainment industry, transport, souvenir manufacturing and sale are accounted to unlock enormous outlooks for employment and profits to varied populations. Governments, connected business clusters and international financing organizations are inclined to look upon tourism as an uncontaminated industry. (Ghimire, 2001) An element of the tourism industry includes the emergence of theme parks as well as amusement parks. It is this sector where tourism as a recreation is among the emerging industries all over the world. With the impetus provided by United States companies such as Walt Disney, theme and amusement parks have become among the most sought after places for the public. This study will look into the business environment of the theme park industry in the UK setting. In order to coherently discuss the said subject, the paper will be divided into several parts so as to provide a more detailed discussion on the specific issues concerning the theme park industry in the United Kingdom.     The Theme Park Industry   According to a report of the European Commission (2005), the term “amusement park” is used to indicate theme parks, amusement parks and water parks. In the same report, they stated that the past two decades presented an astounding yet constant increase of amusement parks in the region. Along with this increase in the number of amusement parks is the emergence of rides with over 170 kilometres per hour as well as those possessing falls that comprise of over 100 metres. In the context of the United Kingdom on the other hand, the notion of “theme park” has constantly been alluded to the by the critics of the Conservatives throughout the nation’s loss in its industrial base in the 80’s. (Woudhuysen, 2001) However, the industry of amusement parks and theme parks in UK has been “deeply assimilated” in the culture of the said nation.   As Woudhuysen (2001) noted in his study, the notion of theme parks and amusement parks have similar qualities as that of what he noted as “fairs of old.” He claimed that the amusement parks of today provide entertainment to the public by means of performing arts. Actors in costume as well as musical shows still prevail in the industry. However, it is the presence of rides and other “electromechanical delights” that pulls people in coming into this place nowadays. To some extent, this still reveal some sort of emulation of the fairs of old. These theme parks continues to allow the attendees to participate in the fun and games provided for by the theme of the place. The presence of such rides and electromechanical delights makes this mission of the theme parks to happen.   Among the major them parks in the United Kingdom includes Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures, and Drayton Manor Park. These establishments make over ₤30M annually and attract several millions of visitors yearly. (Woudhuysen, 2001) There are other parks that focus more on the “theme” rather than to the thrills provided by the rides in it. There is the Centre Parcs, which is a Dutch theme park, focuses more on the provision of “sports, leisure, and environmental facilities, using a blend of sophisticated technologies.” (Woudhuysen, 2001) Another is Warwick Castle. It is a 60 acre park which focuses more on the medieval themes. Thus, activities such as jousting and archery are among the more favourite of those in the visitors.               Stakeholders in the Industry   According to the report by the European Commission (2005), there are three sectors that comprise the industry. These include the rides manufacturers, the amusement parks, and the people working in these amusement parks. The manufacturers of the rides are generally represented by the European Association for the Amusement Supplier Industry (EAASI). On the other hand, the amusement parks are represented by the European Federation of Leisure Parks (Europarks). Similarly, the said workers in these amusement parks are represented by the European Showmen’s Union (USU/UFE). These three players are considered as the major stakeholders in the industry of theme parks and amusement parks.   The European Association for the Amusement Supplier Industry (EAASI) was established in 2000. Its main mission is to raise the industry profile of ride manufacturing and tackle issues regarding their trade particularly with regards to safety standards, European legislation, and international relations. The European Federation of Leisure Parks (Europarks), on the other hand, was established in 1981 represents over two hundred amusement parks in Europe. Similar to that of the EAASI, the intention of Europarks is also geared towards several agenda. However, the prevailing one is the maintenance of their reputation of safety among the members.   Responsibilities Present in the Theme Park Industry   In the said industry, it has earlier been noted that the existence of rides and other “electromechanical delights” has been the main attraction for theme parks. It is thus the responsibility of the members and players of the theme park industry to carry out risk assessment procedures with regards to these rides particularly with its effect to the consuming public. This means that the amusement parks have a responsibility to its consumers with regards to the effects of their normal operations and abnormal operation. The normal operations constitute the occurrence where the rides are operated as planned. In this context, the consumer may possibly encounter dizziness or nausea as a result of rides with “extreme thrills” involved. On the other hand, the abnormal operations constitute events where the ride does not acquire the intended purpose which normally brings about accidents. This could provide consequent injuries such as bruises, trauma, or even death. The report of the European Commission revealed that there have been 19,000 injuries that have transpired throughout the member states. (European Commission, 2005) Moreover, the table below summarizes the recent accidents that took place in UK concerning theme parks.   Policies and its Effects on the Industry   In 1997, the UK Health and Safety Executive presented a publication regarding the safe practice of fairgrounds and amusement parks (HSG175). The said guideline provides courses of action that intends to manage the risk levels of the rides and other operations that are carried out in amusement and theme parks. In its section F, it takes into consideration the duties of the controllers, purchasing and selling of an attraction, adjustments and fixing of the machines, efficient maintenance of the rides, existence of a safe system of operation, proper selection and training of employees, and the proper procedures once an emergency transpires.   However, compared to its contemporaries in EU, this piece of legislation is weak considering other members of the union have enacted specific laws regarding the conduct in Amusement Parks. Such countries include Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. As compared to the legislation provided by the said countries the one presented in UK is non-regulatory in nature. This means that the failure to follow such actions stated in the said guidelines will not necessarily place the Amusement parks in direct liability once any abnormal operations take place.   Conclusion and Recommendations   The theme park industry in the United Kingdom is continuously a growing area. However, the discussions above revealed that it has been marred by accidents in the past years. The existence of such risk in these areas defeats its purpose of providing fun and recreation for the consumers. It is thus recommended by this study that the government of UK create an actual law that regulates the industry. This will be able the government to effectively control the industry by the provision of sanctions for breach of such laws. The current presence of non-regulatory measures provided by the government does well to the industry. However, these non-regulatory measures are only effective when the industry supports these regulations. It is the position of the paper that the government should step up and create a model that would establish a safe and risk free industry among amusement and theme parks.

TOURISM IN UK

Introduction Tourism has continued to be an essential component of development planning in nations. In some insta...

Research Proposal Sample on Vodafone UK Customer Satisfaction

Introduction             In the business industry, it is important to gather customer to make the product and services sold. Therefore, keeping a customer is difficult in the business when it is in the starting stage. A business will find it harder to find prospective and loyal customer when operating abroad. And because of the economic problem that many countries are facing now, another challenge was revived; how to keep the customer? The Customer Satisfaction The customer satisfaction is a business term that measures how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy1.             Every business’s mission is making the customers as their first priority. In accordance to this, the business must fill or serve the satisfaction of their customers according to what preferences that the market is demanding for. For an instance, if the business is in the food industry and the customers’ wants different variations of soup then, the management must look forward to create sumptuous dishes.             Some business use different approach in leading their customers in the satisfactory stage like making special for their valued customer or raffle promo or making a sale for some products, anything that will catch the customers’ attention and at the end bringing the profit and customers’ trusts. The business literally promotes their product with the use of their customer because if one customer felt great to their product or enjoyed the service, he/she will make it on the broadcast among with their friends. The value of customers in the business is very high thus; the business needs to find impressions to keep them coming back to their establishment.             In the case of finding such market in the other country, is like finding a needle in a vast gassy meadow. It is hard when the business is new to the eye of the customers. It is hard when the business is not prepared in approaching the customers well. It is hard when the business has many competitors in the area. The need for adjustment is highly acceptable. And because of these issues that surround the business industry, the proper guidance is highly appreciated. The Vodafone case can be a basis in catching the customer’s interest. The Vodafone Vodafone UK has more than 17 million customers and is part of the world’s largest mobile community. Vodafone’s leadership in mobile voice and data communications has continued, thanks largely to its focus on developing its brand and customer experience2. In this big company, reaching the respect of the customers is not new to them. Most especially, the Vodafone is a technology-based business and the impact of acceptance is expectedly high. But even a good business like Vodafone still needs to assess their customers and answer every question of their customer. They also consider many opinions and suggestion coming from their customers so that, the evidence in the growing customer acceptance make their gross reach the highest every year. However, the challenge is still there in every kind of business. Customer’s Challenge Vodafone is constantly looking for new ways to drive interaction and enhance the service that we offer to our customers, while at the same time making the life of our people simpler and more rewarding. However, Vodafone recognized that it was not differentiating the needs of its in-store customers or allocating store employees according to their areas of expertise. This meant waiting times could be lengthy and the level of service provided varied on the store employee’s area of expertise. So, Vodafone introduced a re-branding program aimed at improving the customer journey in store, as well as differentiating Vodafone from its competitors. Based on the macro planning principles of “Organize me, Engage me”, the key components of the refit included greater automation in-store, the option for self-service through kiosks, and footfall counters to track the volume of customers in-store and optimize the customer flow. Benefits to the Customer • Improve the customer experience – customers now have more time to browse the store and choose how to purchase, so everyone benefits from faster and more efficient service, in a more relaxed atmosphere. This has led to a considerable uplift in customer satisfaction. • Increase performance – optimized stores outperform other stores. Average contract volumes have increased with average upgrade volumes also increasing. • Minimize business disruption – systems availability is enhanced, with a substantial reduction in support calls and improvement in first time fixes, increasing sales opportunities • Maximize profit margins – self-service significantly reduces the cost of sale especially amongst core pre-pay customers • Enhance productivity – automation of commodity purchases enables faster transaction times and frees up resources to help other customers. The number of customers leaving stores without seeing an advisor is also declining • Reduce support costs – tailoring services and removing duplicate effort and resources has cut costs, while increasing the overall level of support • Optimize resource deployment – increased management information, such as customer numbers, waiting times and sales conversion figures, is helping to track and measure the customer experience in-store and enable staffing roles to be prepared to reflect store and customer requirements. The Business Case for Measuring Impacts The nature of multinational business is complex, shaped by globalization and rapid socio-economic and political change. Sustainability issues are increasingly contributing to this complexity, not least climate change, resource constraints, endemic poverty and ecosystem degradation. Committing to create a more sustainable and inclusive form of globalization and the following are the key objectives3: • Develop a deeper understanding of how global issues such as poverty, the environment, demographic change and globalization affect individual companies and sectors; • Use the understanding of these issues to search for more inclusive business solutions that help to address the issues at both a local and global scale; • Align core business strategies with the solutions identified; • Incorporate long-term measures into the definition of success, targeting profitability that is sustainable and supported by a responsible record in managing social, environmental and employment matters. The Business in Developing Countries Companies recognize the risks and opportunities their operations face in developing countries and the important role they play in influencing change. They rely on transparent legal systems, access to markets and infrastructure services, social stability, healthy and skilled employees and suppliers, as well as consumers willing and able to purchase their products and services. While these conditions are critical for business growth and success, the benefits resulting from the presence of multinational business and the associated in-flows of capital may not reach all sectors of society. The consequence can be a thriving middle and upper class while the low-income segment gets left behind. This can lead to strained relations between business and the communities associated with their activities, increased scrutiny from civil society organizations and greater levels of political pressure from local and national governments, all of which can increase commercial risks for investors3. Conclusion             The importance of customer in one business can affect the operation of a multinational company most especially in the developing countries. The success of a multinational company can make an additional growth in their own economy. Getting the heart of the customers are essential to keep the business moving. Although there are many factors that can affect a business that is new in the face of the foreign country, the main strategy that the study can add is to look for a customer that has a same nationality of the business. For example, the American business is new to Japan, therefore, the business should target their very own race first before entering the Japanese culture and became part of their life.   References: 1.      Gitman, L; & McDaniel, C., (2005). The Future of Business: The Essentials. Mason, Ohio: South-Western. ISBN 0324320280. 2.      Vodafone Case in Customer Satisfaction (n.d.). [Online] Available at: http://www.fujitsu.com/uk/casestudies/fs_vodafone-customersatisfaction.html [Accessed 14 Aug 2009]. 3.      Impact: Beyond the Bottom Line (2008). WBCBD. [Online] Available at: http://www.wbcsd.org/web/projects/sl/MIbeyondthebottomline.pdf [Accessed 14 Aug 2009].

Research Proposal Sample on Vodafone UK Customer Satisfaction

Introduction In the business industry, it is important to gather customer to make the product and services sold. Therefore, kee...

RESEARCH METHODS & DISSERTATION PROPOSAL: Multinational Culture: The implications for selection, development and introducing new employees in a multinational organisation, Toyota Europe Brussels Head office, Toyota Motor Europe Manufacturing (TMEM)

RESEARCH METHODS – DISSERTATION PROPOSAL   1.         Title   Multinational Culture:  The implications for selection, development and introducing new employees in a multinational organisation, Toyota Europe Brussels Head office, Toyota Motor Europe Manufacturing (TMEM) Section only.   2.         Research questions and objectives   Research Questions:   	<li class="MsoNormal"> 	 	What are 	the demands when selecting employees for Human Resource professional?</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal"> 	 	What 	expectations after selection, do new members have to ‘live up to’?</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal"> 	 	What 	methods of development are in place for employees?</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal"> 	 	What are 	the causes of failure for employees?</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal"> 	 	What is 	done to prepare new recruits into the organisation?</li>     Research Objectives:   1.    To establish what criteria is used for the recruitment process (skills, knowledge or ‘fit’). 2.    To identify any development tools for employees. 3.    To investigate the causes of employee failure in Brussels head office. 4.    To consider the effectiveness of Toyota’s introduction of new employees into the head office.     3.         Rationale   Over the last 20 years, multi-national culture has been a topic of significant interest in studies and there continues to be recent items, which support my case for this paper.  Kranias, 2000 states culture is always an important aspect within an organisation.  Its importance is further emphasised in the case of the Japanese multinational companies and how their culture affects the relationship between the Japanese parent companies and their subsidiaries overseas.  From 3rd February 2003, I will commence employment with Toyota Head office, which is a Japanese subsidiary in Brussels.   The reason behind my proposal is based on the experience I had during the recruitment process, what my experience has been during the acceptance of my contract and the process for me when joining a multinational company – my first day and onwards.  The other factor, which has been of interest to me when completing additional literature review, is the impact that Japanese cultural requirements may have on the employees at Head office, Brussels, including myself.   I will commence with the recruitment process, which took 6 months and involved three interviews and an assessment day.  Toyota’s recruitment process objectives appeared to be aimed at selecting the right people for the roles available and this could be said that all organisational objectives should be to recruit the right people that match the skills and knowledge required for the vacant position.          My experience during the interview process posed some difficult hurdles due to the questions posed and I felt this was due to language and cultural differences.  During all interviews, there was a panel of three interviewers who were Japanese, German and Dutch.  Various questions had to be repeated or expressed in a different manner for all individuals to completely understand the context, even between the interviewing panel.  The main focus around questioning during my interviews was based on my values rather than technical competence.  This questioning technique came predominately from the Japanese interviewer.   Due to this experience it led me to question if some people may be unsuccessful to join Toyota predominately due to potential cultural differences that may be deemed not to fit with the corporate philosophy.   During the assessment process whereby there were six delegates, the assessors informed us that they were looking for strengths that match the ‘Toyota Way’ but no one to date has informed me what that is and once again is this more a cultural fit rather than on technical ability?   Currently at Toyota head office there are approximately 250 employees and have over 10 nationalities working within the company.  Predominately the mix is British, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Turkish, Polish and Spanish therefore there is a large mixture of different cultures within the head office and potential major differences in cultural backgrounds.  I anticipate experiencing some of the difficulties posed by cultural diversity, which based on the literature research may include communication, values and social culture.  Based on this information I feel these three area’s will be of significances to me as the team I will join consists of 11 human resource employees and I will be the only English person within this team and I do not speak another language.      However, the complexity of cultural differences eludes easy understanding and remains obscure in the complexity of daily life and as this is my first international assignment and based on the significant research already completed regarding multinational culture, this leads me to know there is further research into how culture plays a part in recruitment and development and how individuals fit within the organisation.    Kranias, 2000 states ‘The use of cultural control has great implications for the selection and training and selecting employees is critical’, and this research will aim to establish the basis of selecting employees, what development takes place and what form of assistance does Toyota provide when you join the company.   4.         Theoretical Underpinning   There are many different definitions of multinational business and Frayerweather, 1978 says that multinational business has ‘only one central distinguishing characteristic – it is business, involving two or more nations’.  Dresser and Carns, 1969 states ‘Culture is the way of life of the group of people’.  Does this mean the group of people are from the same nationality?   Handy, 1999 makes a statement that different nationalities prefer different organisational cultures and that this should not be a surprise but it is only recently that organisational studies have been able to spell out the difference in any detail. For example, cultural theorists like Hofstede believe that cultural influences play an enormous part in the way employees behave in organisations.     Therefore prior to being offered a contract with Toyota that is owned by Japanese, I worked for an American company.  Will I be able to support this with evidence obtained during my research when I review the selection, development and the introduction of the new employee into the workplace?   Recent research carried out by Miroshnik, 2001 regarding culture of multinational business states certainly the economic and physical environments are important issues but the cultural environment - communications, religions, values and ideologies, education and social structure has special importance in multinational business.    Analysis of problems and failures of multinational business abroad has shown that the first dominant factor is culture.  The old Japanese parable about monkey’s and fish’s management style dramatises the consequences of ignorance of the cultural factor in business and it is an appropriate metaphor for the kinds of problems that can arise when people of diverse cultures come into contact without preparation.   Employers should understand this, as culture is an integrated phenomenon and by recognising and accommodating taboos, rituals and many other components they may pave the way toward greater harmony.  Sherman, et al., 1995 states ‘Managing relations between multicultural organisations is a matter of accurate perception and appropriate adaptation.   A large part of the literature review was concerned with the failure of assigning and devising methods to prevent failures.  Much of this is focused on the difficulties in terms of culture clash, Torbiorn, 1982.  Failure of assignments does also impact the company regarding costs, image of the organisation and will potentially affect the individual concerned.     Based on the research it is evident that considerable attention should be given to recruitment, selection and training, and introduction into the organisation for employees to reduce the risk of failures and costs.   During the module Human Resource International, we reviewed a report held in Teesside University library, 658.311 GLY 02, issued by Roffey Park Management Institute.  The title was ‘Towards Global Leadership, Recruiting and Developing International Managers’, Glynn and Holbeche.  Their literature research showed the issues that surround international assignments from selection, training, development and repatriation to the impact of the family and the importance of career management.  They also state the criteria on which successful international employees are selected is still an issue which has not been resolved.  They also found that most multinational companies agree that their managers need international expertise; but their survey revealed that more than half of the large European corporations participating in the study lacked a strategy.  It does not provide which organisation participated.   Based on the findings during the literature review and my own current experience there remains gap in multinational organisations regarding preparing for cultural difficulties during selection, when developing and especially for the preparation and introduction into the organisation.  This report will explore the gaps and provide recommendations to Toyota Head Office, TMEM section.         5.         Methodology   Due to the change in my employment, I have based the methodology on the following.  I commenced employment with Toyota on 3rd February 2003, and due to the lack of in depth knowledge, I will commence my research from induction – building theory due to requiring building knowledge at this stage about the organisation and the culture.  I will commence collecting primary data by meeting people and interviewing a sample of the employees who have had the experience of joining this company and I will commence with the expatriate population of approximately 40 employees (the number concerned had been obtained from the Human Resource department).  My basis for this decision is to establish and gain a feel of issues (understand what is going on), so as to understand better the nature of the difficulties regarding culture people face during the selection process and when joining a new company.  I will then commence to make sense of the interview data by analysing the information and the result from this will be the basis of my theory.    The interview will be based on semi-structured interviews with employees who have joined as expatriates and are from TMEM, which is the division I have joined.  The interviews will last approximately one hour and will be semi-structured.  I will use an a list of themes and questions based on my own experience and issues obtained during the Roffey Park research but during the interview process I will use follow-up questions when relevant if further exploration is required.    To aid my research I will establish from the Human Resource department if they conduct any form of analysis in order to record the different nationalities that have joined the company and if they conduct any exit forms when assignments have failed to establish reasons.  This would assist with researching different cultures and problems that have been encountered.  I know they do not have at this stage a Human Resource database but I will establish if they record using excel or access package.   To establish how recruitment is conducted, I will conduct a semi - structured interview with the head of the recruitment and selection team to verify the criteria they use and to confirm if they are looking for the ‘fit’ rather than based on a criteria of establishing a persons skills, experience and technical ability.  Again the interview guide will be based on my own experience with follow-up questions when necessary.   The interviews which I will undertake of the expatriate populations will be aimed at establishing a variety of aspects of their experience during the recruitment process and when joining the company by giving personal experiences.  Thus the interviews will consist to some extent of story telling; personal accounts of an experience.  Bruner, 1986 and Polkinghorne, 1988 state ‘story telling is a generic human approach aimed at structuring and ordering reality and individual experience and is a deliberate research method increasingly used in organisation studies.  Gabriel, 2000 has used story telling when researching organisational communication and culture.  I will use this information to formulate the image of the culture and the ideas and beliefs and group the views, for example, managers will be in one group.   A problem that may arise when carrying out interviews is if the interviewer is inexperienced with the possibility of interviewer bias.  I intend to carry out the interviews myself, I am a trained and experienced interviewer, (for recruitment and industrial relations), and would therefore hope that these problems could be minimised.    The other factor, which I felt was evident during my interview process, is an individual’s perception of the question posed.  I must continue to establish the question asked in English means the same to the individual during interview.   The current methods of managing selection, development and preparing new employees will be identified and reviewed prior to structuring the interview process and I will also use my own experience for this process.    There is also an intention to carry out qualitative interviews with other parties including the HR Manager and HR Director and will be conducted face to face as I have been informed the department structure is open plan and regular open communication meetings take place therefore I do not envisage a problem organising time to hold these interviews.    It is my intention to use Excel to analyse my data.  Excel will be used to produce graphs and tables.  The data gathered via the qualitative interviews will be used in a descriptive way to enhance the quantitative data gathered by evaluating the information obtained from the semi-structured interviews, and recording which of the experiences were referred to by the expatriate employees.  This will show the frequencies clearly experienced by the sample group.   6.         Timetable   February      analysis of current procedure for selection, development and introducing new employees into the organisation. March           identify gaps, prepare script for interviews and classify them. April              Complete interviews collate and analyse results and record results. June             first draft, proof reading and rewriting August          final proof reading, final copy printed and bound     7.         Resources   Access to tutor, which will be by telephone and e-mail due to geographical reasons. Time (of researcher and those to be interviewed) Computer facilities, (will use own laptop)   8.         Ethical Considerations   Due to people providing their own experiences and the fact that the interviews will seek their own personal experiences, reassurance must be given to all participants that confidentiality is of the utmost importance.  They may be concerned if they are critical of the process, that this may affect their future with the business and relationships with their manager.   It will be made clear that the purpose of this research is purely a study for the purpose of this dissertation and that recommendations will be made.  They will be notified that findings will lead to recommendations to help with future selection, development and introducing individuals to the organisation to achieve a better process.   It must also be made clear that invited participants have a right to refuse to participate, or to answer any particular question during the interview.     9.            References   Dresser, D & Carns, D., 1969, Sociology the Study of Human Interactions, Intercultural Press   Glynn, C & Holbeche, L., Towards Global Leadership: Recruiting and Developing International Managers, Roffey Park Management Institute, 658.311 GLY 02   Frayerweather, J., 1978, International Business Strategy, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA   Handy, C., 1999, Organisational Changes,   Harvey, F., 1997, National cultural differences using Hofstede’s national culture, Information Technology & People Journal Vol.10 No.2, pp132 –146   Helms, M., Exploring the factors that influence employees’ perceptions of their organisation’s culture, Journal of Management in Medicine, Vol.15 No. 6, 2001, pp. 415-429   Hofstede, G., 1980, Culture’s Consequences. International Differences in Work Related Values, Sage Publications   Holden, R., Managing people’s values and perceptions in multi-cultural organisations, Employee Relations Vol.23 No.6, 2001, pp.614-626   Miroshnik, 2001   Sherman et al., 1995   Torbiorn, 1982   Roffey Park Article, GLY 02

RESEARCH METHODS & DISSERTATION PROPOSAL: Multinational Culture: The implications for selection, development and introducing new employees in a multinational organisation, Toyota Europe Brussels Head office, Toyota Motor Europe Manufacturing (TMEM)

RESEARCH METHODS – DISSERTATION PROPOSAL 1. Title Multinational Culture: The implications for selection, developme...