The Ancient Art Of Feng Shui Essays - Taoist Cosmology, Divination

The Ancient Art Of Feng Shui The Ancient Art of Feng Shui The History of Feng Shui Feng Shui has been practiced in China for thousands of years and is believed to have started in 2953 B.C. when Hu of Hsia found a tortoise that had a perfect magic square on its back. From this discovery evolved the I Ching, the oldest book in Chinese history, and possibly the world (Webster 1). This book contains the first written instructions on the theory of Feng Shui. Feng Shui was seen as a sacred power, so much so that in ancient China, only the privileged class had access to the knowledge. There are even stories of members of the Imperial family who went out of their way to obscure the texts in order to prevent those who might be a threat to them from obtaining the sacred knowledge. The first Ming emperor even ordered that the country be flooded with books containing misleading theories and incorrect guidelines on Feng Shui (Too 2). When Chiang Kai Shek fled the mainland he took thousands of books on Feng Shui with him to Taiwan and used its principles in building a regime the re. From there it traveled to Hong Kong and eventually to the Western World through Marco Polo (Cassidy). Modern Feng Shui is based on the commentaries from Wang Chi and other scholars from the Sung dynasty, 1126-960 B.C. (Webster 3). What is Feng Shui? Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of living in harmony with nature and your surroundings, in order to maximize your health, prosperity and luck. It literally translates as wind and water and it involves the placement of buildings in relation to their surroundings, and the placement of furniture within the building in order to maximize the chi, the original energy source on the earth, from which everything else was created (Webster 4). As the dragon is seen as the most revered celestial creature of Chinese philosophy, chi has been called the breath of the dragon. Chi is an invisible energy that circulates throughout the world but also gathers in certain areas. The basic idea of Feng Shui is to harness as much chi as possible by allowing it to gather where you are, whether it is in your home or in your office. Chi is the life force that is all living things, and can be found, in its perfection wherever things are done perfectly. An artist who creates a masterpiece is creating chi. T hrough Feng Shui, we are looking for places where chi is accumulated or where it is formed. For example, chi is scattered by strong winds, so a windy location is not a good source of chi. However, chi is bound by water, so a location near water is full of the accumulated life force. According to Feng Shui mythology, the first time that chi moved it created yang, the male principle, and when it rested, it created yin, the female principle. After these very important creations chi then created the rest of the universe. The theory of the yin and the yang are of vital importance to Feng Shui (Webster 6). Yin and Yang Yin and yang are the two opposing energies involved with Feng Shui and neither one can survive without the other. In fact nothing is completely yin or completely yang, everything is a combination of both energies. This is illustrated is the popular yin yang symbol in which a small circle of black is located in the large white shape and a small white circle is inside the black (Feng Shui Society). This symbol is called the Taichi symbol of completeness due to its perfect balance of the yin and the yang. Together, yin and yang make up Tao, the way. The entire universe is made up of yin and yang energies constantly interacting with each other, and perfect harmony is established through a perfect balance. Since chi is the life force and it created the yin and yang, neither yin nor yang can be evil or good. They just are (Webster 7). It is only when you have an unbalanced amount of the two that your chi become negatively affected. According to Feng Shui, mountains, hills

Health Policy in US

Health Policy in US Introduction This paper seeks to describe public policy in relation to the first source provided in which it explains the policy arena, the policy endpoints and the policy options, major political actors involved in the debate, how the political actors choose to influence political process and whether there is an attempt for the national strategy.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Health Policy in US specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Public policy is a program of action already in effect or planned for implementation whose aim is to improve the situation of the public. Some of the components of public policy include; the methods for its implementation and specification of resources requirements, its relevance and guidelines for the said action and the rules and regulations prescribed to it. The arena of the health policy selected for this assignment is focused towards defining various strategies for strengthening govern ance, improving the allocation of resources, decentralization of the health services, shifting the resources from just the curative healthcare to preventive healthcare services, provision of the autonomy to provincial and national hospitals, enhancing collaboration with the stakeholders and implementing social and health insurance programs. The policy endpoints and policy options being discussed is the health care overhaul law and the legislative achievement of President Obama’s signature. The policy options here include; upholding the law by the justices, duck a definitive decision premature entirely and strike down its most controversial provisions. In the matter, the Supreme Court and President Obama are likely to give rise to the constitutional and political blockbuster (Liptak 1). The health policy here is however faced with various challenges that need be discussed by the political bigwigs. Some of the challenges include; lack of accountability, poor policy implementati on, the pressure from the United Nations, insufficient funds, lack of enough qualified staff and failure to embrace the health insurance by some groups. The policy endpoints are associated with certain factors that affect its formulation and implementation. Factors such as situational factors, structural factors, political culture, democratic factors and environmental factors hinder the course of policy action. The major political actors involved in the public debate of the health policy include the government, the media and the interest groups. Service providers, professional bodies and advocacy groups may be involved, but they majorly contribute in the policy planning process.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These political actors ensure that the policy is addressed in the best way possible. They do this by influencing the political process of the policy. These political actors choose to influence the policy process through lobby groups, media campaigns, propaganda mechanisms, and agents of socialization, agents of legitimacy and by playing key roles in the agenda setting (Warren, 100). The strategy does not play out inside the Beltway, but there is an attempt to come up with a national strategy that will ensure the process of health policy planning is done effectively. Some of the components of the national strategy suggested include; the visioning exercises, creation of the mission and goals, objective establishments, creating a monitoring plan, establishing strategic directions and developing a framework that will establish and monitor success. According to the national strategy to be established, a health policy planning should be done in the following steps; Perform an environmental scanning Set goals and directions Identify possible problems and challenges Identify range of possible solutions to the problems and challenges Determine the best possible solution from the suggested ones to implement Implement the chosen solution Evaluate the results of the implemented solution A plausible scenario for public policy change from the status quo would be the shift from the initial health policy framework to the current health policy. Initially, the health policy framework would ensure the equitable allocation of government resources in order to reduce disparities in the health status, increase cost effectiveness and cost efficiency of the allocation of the resources and use, the management of the growth of the population, enhancing the regulatory role of the government, creating and enabling the environment for the increased private sector and community involvement in the provision of the health services and increasing and diversifying the per capita finance flow in the health sector. This has however changed with the current health policy framework (Warren 102). Currently, the health policy framework is strengthening the cent ral public policy role of the state in health matters and concerns. Apart from that, the health policy framework does other things like adopting the explicit strategy in order to reduce the burden of disease among the population, shifting part of the financial burden to the insurance, generating increased levels of financial resources and strengthening local authorities, private and mission sectors that provide health services. In summary, this paper has described the public policy in relation to source one that was provided where it explained the policy endpoints, the policy arena and the policy options, major political actors involved in the debate, how the political actors choose to influence political process and whether there is an attempt for the national strategy.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Health Policy in US specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The major political actors involved in the public debate of th e health policy described in the paper include the government, the media and the interest groups. Service providers, professional bodies and advocacy groups may be involved, but they majorly contribute in the policy planning process. Liptak, Adam. Justices to Hear Health Care Case as Race Heats Up. Washington: New York Times Company, 2011 Warren, James. Liberal or Conservative: the problem is ignorance. New York: Lexis, 2011

Effective teaching in schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Effective teaching in schools - Essay Example For example schools located in rural areas or schools serving marginalised communities such as the blacks and immigrants may have to adopt different teaching strategies so as to be effective in teaching. Such schools are likely to go for the strategies, which meet the needs of the vulnerable children they enroll. When designing or determining the most suitable or effective strategies for schools it is important to bear in mind the level of the pupils. Strategies, which may be effective in primary school level, may fail terribly if applied to higher education level. Developmental stages must be considered by teachers. For example primary school pupils are more likely to experience emotional imbalances than high school students. This calls for teachers to be careful on the way they plan for their teaching sessions. Evidence of behavioural changes in children was evidenced by the increase in the number of children who faced exclusion from school in the years following the removal of elusion targets in schools in 2001 (Evans, Harden, Thomas, & Benefield, 2003.31-79). There was an increase of about 11 percent in secondary schools and an increase in exclusion of about 19% in primary schools (Evans, Harden, Thomas, & Benefield, 2003.31-79). ... The effectiveness of teaching in the UK has in the past been measured by performance of the students. However this kind of measurement is faulty and may place on the teacher a heavy burden of blame when performance is low and at the same time lead to praising of the teacher when performance goes up. According to (Tiffin, & Rajasingham, 1995.12-68), there is a lot to effective teaching than the exam results. For instance there is the issue of legislation, the kind of legislation in place can hinder or promote effective learning depending on how well suitable they are. Equally important is the class environment, which may include the size of the class, the facilities available in the school, the level of training of the teachers as well as kind of pupils or students in the class. Very important is the methodology teachers' use in the teaching. For example in a Chemistry class, effectiveness cannot be realised if the teacher uses only one methodology of teaching. Teaching Chemistry class calls for a number of learning activities such as laboratory practicals. In Chemistry there is a need for peer coaching or group collaboration given the fact that in a class some students will always learn at a faster rate than their colleagues. This calls for the effective teachers to integrate al l the applicable learning and teaching methods. The above serves to underscore the fact that teaching is just one component of learning which plays an important role in determining learning outcomes. According to the Department for Education and Employment, (1997.4 -19) the social context of learning influences teaching and learning. These social contexts may be beyond teachers' control in most cases. This implied that the kind of

The Performance of the Global Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Performance of the Global Marketing - Essay Example In this regard, studies that serve the purpose of linking marketing activities to firm performance and stock value are exceedingly necessary. Undoubtedly these have been reasons for the Marketing Science Institute to list Marketing Metrics among top research priorities. The organization of this proposal is the following. Firstly, a description of the project is presented. Secondly, the methodology is proposed. Thirdly, an approximated time schedule of research is developed. Finally, a provisional table of contents is suggested. In reference to academic relevance, this research pretends to support empirical evidence to the field of marketing metrics in a global context. The suggestion of Rust et al. (2004) about search for empirical support to the chain of marketing activities has been taken into account. According to Holmstrom and Tirole's (1989:65) definition, a theory of the firm must address two central questions: (a) why firms exist, and (b) what determines their scale and scope. In the case of this thesis proposal, there are two theoretical perspectives central to explaining the relationship between Marketing Strategy and firm's performance in a global context: the Industrial Organization (IO) Theory and the Resource-Based View (RBV) Theory. Both of them postulate that the purpose of the firm is to maximize profits. Having fulfilled the first question of Holmstrom and Tirole (1989:65), the logic of this theoretical framework is to connect the drivers of the two theories to the relationship between marketing strategy and firm's performance. 2.1.1. Industrial Organization Theory The IO theory focuses on the external market to identify drivers of a firm's strategy which will consequently affect its performance (Zou and Cavusgil 2002). According to the IO framework, external market and industry environment (structure) determines a firm's strategy (conduct), which in turn determines its performance (Porter 1980). Under IO theory, the development of the marketing strategy has to allow for the structure of the external market and industry, hence being coaligment to environment for getting positive effects on performance (Venkatraman and Prescott 1990) and survive and prosper (Collis 1991). 2.1.2. Resource-Based View

Strategic Management Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Management Assignment - Essay Example out sponsorship of the world’s most popular league creates a positive emotional link between our brand and football fans everywhere† (www.premierleague.com accessed December 2009). Moreover, Barclays’ sponsorship of the Premier League has enabled Barclays to capitalise on the branding strategy and business growth of clubs within the Premier league such as Manchester United, whose ability to transcend from football into mainstream culture as a testament to its branding strategy success (Johnson et al, 2008). As such, Barclays PLC president Robert E. Diamond Junior asserts that Barclays’ sponsorship of the Premier league provides the perfect strategic fit for the Barclays brand. The focus of this paper is to undertake a strategy management evaluation of the Barclays Premier League with a contextual focus on Manchester United The last decade has seen has radical transformation of the UK football industry, with economic indicators pointing to football has a viable business model (Johnson et al, 2008, p.20). It is submitted that a key element of this is effective strategy management, which is imperative to the continued success of the Premier League as the leisure industry continues to grow as an important sector exponentially in the global marketplace (Joyce & Woods, 2001, p.488). This is further supported by the argument of Joyce and Woods that â€Å"football is big business and the leisure industry is fast becoming an important sector worldwide† (2001, p.488). Therefore, it is submitted that a market environment analysis of the English Premier League and the multiple income streams created by leading clubs such as Manchester United within the league is imperative to the consideration of Barclays long term growth and development goals going forward. For example, in Exall’s â€Å"Who Killed English Football?: An Analysis of the State of English Football† (2007), Exall suggests that the Premier league business model radicalised English football by

Cash Flow Statements: Indirect Method

Cash Flow Statements: Indirect Method a) International Accounting Standard 7 (IAS 7) lays down the standards expected by companies when presenting information about changes in cash or cash equivalents. Under IAS 7, a company is required to present a statement of cash flow showing the changes in cash and cash equivalents from the three key areas of operating, investing and financing (Wheetman, 2006)[1]. The definition of cash and cash equivalents includes cash, as well as any other investments that are considered high liquidity and can be easily converted into a known amount of cash. When presenting cash flow statements, there are two main ways that are recognised by IAS 7: direct and indirect, although a preference is shown for the direct method. The direct method involves reporting the cash flow gross, as it happens, so that all cash out and all cash in are simply taken gross without any adjustments made for other factors. On the other hand, the indirect method shows the net cash flows once all other factors have been taken into account. It is not necessary for companies to use the direct method and due to the costly process of looking through all receipts and expenses, it is much more common for companies to use the indirect method (Schwartz, 1996)[2] . b) China World Limited (CWL), as is the case with many large companies, has opted to report its cash flow statements in an indirect way. The cash flow statement in the published accounts year ended 31st December 2007 reflects this choice fully; however, there is no discussion as to why the direct method was not used. During the preparation of the accounts, CWL has made several assumptions in order to produces the cash flow statements. For example, depreciation is accounted for during the cash flow statement, as it is not a true expense. When the profit figure, which is the starting point for the cash flow statements, is calculated, the depreciation is taken into account based on the depreciation policies being followed by the company. In the case of CWL, the property owned by the company is depreciated over 20 years, fixtures and fittings over a range of 5 to 10 years and motor vehicles over a period of 5 years. As these amounts are merely policy choices and are done on a straight line method, the actual amount allocated to depreciation has no immediate bearing on the actual cash flow statement and is, therefore, added back on to the ultimate net profit figure during the indirect method calculation. A similar approach is taken with amortisation of intangible assets where the initial costs of thes e assets are spread across the expected life span of the asset. This is not an actual cash movement and is, therefore, added back on to the final profit figure during the cash flow statement (Mills, 1991)[3]. Additional adjustments are then made to include cash based transactions such as interest receivable in an attempt to show a truly accurate picture of cash flow movement. Changes in inventory levels are assumed to reflect the amount of cash available, directly. This is not necessarily the case and it is merely an assumption that CWL has made for the benefit of the cash flow statement (Mills Yanamura, 1998)[4]. Other assumptions that have been made are likely to have an impact on the cash flow. For example, when calculating the net profits, there is an allowance made for bad debtors. This figure is purely an estimate based on previous experiences and the perceived risks associated with the various creditors that are related to the company at any time. In using the indirect method, these assumptions will still bear some relevance to the bottom line, meaning that a change of policy or assumption can have a direct impact on the way in which the cash flow statement looks (Barth, 2006)[5]. As CWL has international operations, it has to deal with the currency fluctuations that occur throughout the year. As the consolidated accounts are presented in pounds sterling, cash values in local currency need to be converted at the exchange rate between the country in which the transaction occurs and British sterling. CWL takes the approach of averaging the exchange rate over the period in which the transactions took place. This assumption is necessary as it simply is not possible to take an accurate exchange rate at the exact point in which a transaction is undertaken. However, it does have a potentially misleading impact on the cash flow statement. Appendix 1 contains a copy of CWL’s accounts as they would appear, had the direct cash flow approach been taken. c) The cash flow statement is merely one aspect of the financial analysis of the company’s financial status. Although cash flow and the liquidity of the company is vital in the overall health of the company, it is not the only measure of success. Firstly, let us consider the liquidity of the liquidity position of CWL. One of the most commonly used ratios is that of the liquidity ratio known as the current ratio. This shows the company’s ability to meet its current liabilities with its current assets. For true financial health, a company wishes to see a ratio that is as high as possible, and at an absolute minimum at least 1:1. In the case of CWL the ratio in 2007 was 1.905, which in itself is particularly healthy and is even healthier when it is compared with the previous year’s figure of 1.734. This increase in the current ratio is primarily due to better management of the money owed by creditors to the company. A further liquidity test is that of the acid test, which is similar in nature to the current ratio but shows a much starker picture as it looks at the ability of the company to meet its current liabilities purely by the use of cash or cash equivalents. In reality, this is a more realistic view of the company’s liquidity position as its main aim is to be able to pay any liabilities that are imminently due, without the need to cash in any other assets, even if they are considered current. In analysing the acid ratio, it is possible to see a different picture of CWL. Although the current ratio shows a particularly healthy liquidity position, it is clear that much of the current assets of CWL are tied up in inventories or in receivables (Chirinko Schaller, 1995) [6]. CWL should aim to manage receivables and inventories better in order to bring the quick ratio closer to the desirable 1:1 position. Although the figure of 0.508 falls considerably short of this ideal ratio, it is a v ast improvement on the 2006 figure of 0.383. As well as liquidity the profitability of the company should be considered. This is the view of how well the company is using its assets to produce a suitable rate of return. The main profitability ratio is that of gross profit margin. As CWL is a manufacturing based company, it is expected that the figure will be at the lower end of the scale; however, the figure of 35.95% is relatively healthy and shows a good rate of profit. Despite this, attention should be given to the cost of sales relative to revenues as they have dropped substantially since 2006 where the figure was 50.19%. This could be attributed to the acquisition of a new subsidiary. Therefore, it is anticipated that, in time, better use of the cost of sales will be made and the gross profit margin will recover to a figure closer to 50%. A final ratio of importance is that of the return on equity. As CWL relies heavily on the shareholders’ equity, it is of considerable importance whether or not the shareholders are receiving a good return on their investment. In its broadest terms, the return on equity ratio shows how much return the company is generating in return for every pound that is put into the company. As a general rule, the higher the return on equity ratio, the better the company is doing, although it should be noted that some companies that require little in the way of financial investment such as consulting firms will almost always have a better return on equity ratio than manufacturing firms such as CWL (Costales Szurovy, 1994)[7]. Once again, in studying the return of equity in relation to CWL, a downward trend between 2006 and 2007 can be seen. This is almost entirely due to the new acquisitions. Therefore, the direct investment in the consolidated company is considerably higher; yet, there has been insufficient time to allow this cash injection to be suitably used to generate increased returns. In a similar way to the gross profit margin, it would be expected that this figure would return to the 2006 figure rapidly and would in the long term be an improvement on the 2006 figures. It should be noted that when looking at these ratios the consolidated accounts have been used. There was a large acquisition made during the year within the group and this has had an impact on the ratios, during 2007. The overall health of the company in terms of liquidity and profitability is good and the slight apparent wobble in the figures will be reversed in the years to come due to the increasing investments being put into the ongoing expansion of the company. The calculations and details of the ratios referred to above are contained in Appendix 2. Appendix 1  Direct Cash Flow Cash flows from operating activities Cash receipts from customers 2,336,967 Cash paid to suppliers and employees (1,496,917) Cash generated from operations (sum) 840,050 Interest paid (8,615) Income taxes paid (52,188) Net cash flows from operating activities 779,247 Cash flows from investing activities Proceeds from the sale of equipment/assets (60,247) Interest received 3,336 Acquisition of subsidiaries (88,209) Net cash flows from investing activities (145,120) Cash flows from financing activities Issue of ordinary share capital 202,500 Costs of issue (13,750) Investment from minority interests 48,360 Interest paid (8,615) Proceeds from bank borrowings 138,172 Net cash flows from financing activities  366,667 Appendix 2 – Ratios Relating to CWL Ratio Calculation Figures Result Current ratio 2007 Current assets / current liabilities 2,284,972 / 1,199,264 1.905 Current ratio 2006 Current assets / current liabilities 1,187,951 / 684,896 1.734 Quick Ratio 2007 Current assets (cash equivalents) / Current liabilities 609,391 / 1,199,264 0.508 Quick Ratio 2006 Current assets (cash equivalents) / Current liabilities 262,080 / 684,896 0.383 Gross Profit Margin 2007 (Revenue Cost of sales) / Revenue (2,336,967 -1,496,917) / 2,336,967 35.95% Gross Profit Margin 2006 (Revenue Cost of sales) / Revenue (1,064,479 530,234) / 1,064,479 50.19% Return on Equity 2007 Net income / total equity 266,372 / 3,148,576 8.46% Return on Equity 2006 Net income / total equity 155,506 / 1,133,966 13.71% Bibliography Barth, Mary E., Including Estimates of the Future in Todays Financial Statements, Accounting Horizons, Vol. 20, 2006 Carslaw, Charles A., Mills, John R., Developing Ratios for Effective Cash Flow Statement Analysis, Journal of Accountancy, Vol. 172, 1991 Chirinko, Robert S., Schaller, Huntley, Why Does Liquidity Matter in Investment Equations? Journal of Money, Credit Banking, Vol. 27, 1995 Costales, S.B., Szurovy, Geza, The Guide to Understanding Financial Statements, McGraw-Hill Professional, 1994 Elliott, Barry, Elliott, Jamie, Financial Accounting, Reporting and Analysis: International Edition, Pearson Education, 2006 Mills, John R., Yamamura, Jeanne H., The Power of Cash Flow Ratios, Journal of Accountancy, Vol. 186, 1998 Schwartz, Donald, The Future of Financial Accounting: Universal Standards,  Journal of Accountancy, Vol. 181, 1996 Shim, Jae K., Siegel, Joel G., Financial Management, Barrons Educational Series, 2000 Weetman, Pauline, Financial Accounting: An Introduction, Pearson Education, 2006 Footnotes [1] Weetman, Pauline, Financial Accounting: An Introduction, Pearson Education, 2006 [2] Schwartz, Donald, The Future of Financial Accounting: Universal Standards, Journal of Accountancy, Vol. 181, 1996 [3] Carslaw, Charles A., Mills, John R., Developing Ratios for Effective Cash Flow Statement Analysis, Journal of Accountancy, Vol. 172, 1991 [4] Mills, John R., Yamamura, Jeanne H., The Power of Cash Flow Ratios, Journal of Accountancy, Vol. 186, 1998 [5] Barth, Mary E., Including Estimates of the Future in Todays Financial Statements, Accounting Horizons, Vol. 20, 2006 [6] Chirinko, Robert S., Schaller, Huntley, Why Does Liquidity Matter in Investment Equations? Journal of Money, Credit Banking, Vol. 27, 1995 [7] Costales, S.B., Szurovy, Geza, The Guide to Understanding Financial Statements, McGraw-Hill Professional, 1994

President Bill Clinton :: William Jefferson Clinton Essays

ST. JOSEPH, Minn., Dec. 17, 1998 — A psychological study of President Bill Clinton, conducted before the 1996 election, predicted that the Clinton presidency would be "troubled by ethical questions and lapses of judgment," but that the president would "retain a following and maintain his self-confidence in the face of adversity." The investigation revealed serious flaws as well as redeeming features in the president’s personality, and found his motives to be "vastly different from those that scuttled the political career of Richard Nixon." The study, by associate professor of psychology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, Aubrey Immelman, was published this fall in the journal Leadership Quarterly. Immelman concluded that in a second presidential term Bill Clinton would likely continue to display his "driving ambition, supreme sense of self-confidence, and personal charisma," but offered the "sobering caveat" that President Clinton’s character contained "the seeds of its own undoing." Specifically, Immelman determined that President Clinton’s personality was an amalgam of ambitious and outgoing personality styles. According to Immelman, these patterns incorporate adaptive aspects of the narcissistic and histrionic character types described in the clinical personality literature. Ambitious personalities are assertive, self-assured, persuasive, self-centered, and have a tendency to be arrogant, acting as though entitled. Outgoing personalities are gregarious, image-conscious, easily bored, charming, seductive, glib and inventive, and believe they can readily charm and influence others. The study was conducted before the president’s affair with Monica Lewinsky came to light. Asked what the president’s character reveals about his sexual risk taking, Immelman noted that personality theorist Theodore Millon of the University of Miami has found that a distinctive feature of the ambitious-outgoing personality composite (as in the case of Bill Clinton) is "an erotic and seductive orientation." According to Millon, such individuals may have an indifferent conscience and aloofness to the truth, which, if brought to their attention, is likely to elicit nonchalant innocence. They are driven by a need for excitement, stimulation, and challenge and tend to be undisciplined, traveling an erratic course of successes, failures, and abandoned hopes. Although they may leave a trail of broken promises and outrageous acts, their disregard for the truth and their talents for exploitation and deception are rarely hostile or malicious in intent. With reference to the current impeachment proceedings against the president, Immelman said that failings associated with ambitious, outgoing personalities such as President Clinton are typically limited in scope, extending primarily to self-indulgent excess, including sexual intemperance.

Sambian Partners : Why Are We Losing All Our Good People

Why Are We Losing All Our Good People Background: Sambian Partners founded by Peter Gasbarian in1975. Gasbarian idea was to build top notch architecture and engineering firm. Helen Gasbarian took charge of Sambian Partners as CEO in1997. The case begins with the resignation of Tom Forsythe, an assistant director. Mary Donillo, the head of human resources was opposed to Tom's decision. According to Adrienne Perle, one of the engineers at Sambian Partners people was quite unhappy. When this came into light, Mary Donillo asked her opinion regarding the current situation at the firm and from here she came to know the dissatisfaction among the employees with the current working conditions, mainly from the higher-ups in the organization. The CEO Helen Gasbarian makes decision of promoting Adrianne to a supervisor position. At this, anger rose among other employees who are more qualified but were not promoted. The junior employees were in an opinion that they could make their mark by leaving the company and work on interesting jobs. Mary decides to carry out an employee survey. She designed open ended questions to get an accurate snapshot of the current scenario the company is facing. But the questions prove to be quite mixed. Employees were giving feedback by leaving. Clearly, they feel that more direct forms of feedback will go unheeded. Helen needs to find the root cause of why employees don't trust the company or don't care enough about the company to improve it. Purpose:- To find the reason for the talent drain. Proposed recommendation:- * To provide a forum where employees can speak openly about their discontent without fear of repercussions. (Grievance Management)[2] Methodology:- We have used business school approach, literature case study method, to study the case and give the recommendation. Findings on evidence:-Evidence: -â€Å"Why are we losing all our good people†, Edward E. Lawler III Harvard Business Rev. June 2008 Nov. Author ;Date| Population ; type oforganization| Design| Measures| Outcome| Comment| Rene Schalk, Wim Van Dijk| Conceptual paper| Dutch health care| Concept of employees' psychological contracts with their organization  |   Integrate employee commitment and quality management  | Quality fails when the system fails| T. N. Krishnan| Research paper| Indian organizations| Study carried on the employees| Valuable workplace| Understanding employment relationship| Lisa A. Steelman, Kelly A. Rutkowski| Research paper| Multinational company| Recipient's willingness to change his or her behavior| Motivated to improve job performance| Credible feedback | Carley Foster, Khanyapuss Punjaisri, Ranis Cheng| Conceptual paper| Multinational company| Employees' attitudes and behaviors| Closer alignment between the employees' values and those of the corporate brand| Synergized to achieve a strong, consistent corporate brand| Manuel London | General review| Multinational company| Interviews with bosses of young first-line managers| Encouraging individual contribution and personal growth| Career motivation| Karien Stadler| Research paper| Saudi Arabian mining company| Sample of 59 executives and senior managers| Talent reviews in the identification, development and retention of potential employees| Company's growth strategy| Thomas N. Garavan|   Literature review| Irish firms| Study of career development practices| Promote career development within the organization| Focusing on the role of the line manager, HRM specialist and the general design of career development systems within an organization| Conclusion:- In the case â€Å"Why are we losing all our good people† we can observe that there is a need of a platform where employees can came out with their discontentment and grievances regarding their working conditions. According to the evidence, Hal's news comes as a shock to Mary. â€Å"Are we part of the problem? † thought Mary as Hal describes the scene he just saw moments earlier. At this moment, a decision must be made: does the company asks its employees to take a job satisfaction survey, or does Mary stop the problem in its tracks by confronting Adrianne directly? The CEO and Mary decide to choose the later, ask Adrianne what is on her mind. After idle conversation the question is asked, â€Å"Is Tom Forsythe talking to you? And are these rumors true? After a few awkward minutes, the truth is reviled. No, Tom is not talking to Adrianne, but she is quite simply unhappy with the current working conditions, mainly from the higher-ups in the organization. Final decision:- From the above evidence we say that Sambian should establish an open-door policy so that employees know that they can talk to someone above their supervisors if they have a complaint. Helen must personally guarantee that feedback will be taken seriously. The employees might be experiencing an imbalance between work and life. The corporate culture should be clearly defined and the employees surveyed should analyze how far they are separated from the same. The employees also felt that there were inadequate career opportunities where they can grow. There was lack of recognition to their higher order needs. Jean Martin, executive director of the Corporate Leadership Council, gave the professional opinion of this article. According to her advice, the issue does not fall on â€Å"what† Mary is asking; it is â€Å"How† she asks it. It will be a harmful for a company when large groups of employees are migrating from it. In such situations, managers will be blamed. Not because they are doing a bad job and they failed to foresee this issue. But as a manager, it is important that they should conduct â€Å"audits† to make sure that their employees are happy. This is known as a â€Å"culture audit. â€Å"[1] It can prove be an effective way to combat these issues. Hence, a robust and clear HR processes is required to make these policies work within the company. References:- 1. Rene Schalk, International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance   2. T. N. Krishnan, Employee Relations  ,2011 , Vol. 33, Issues: 5 3. Manuel London, Journal of Management Development  , 1986Volume: 5  Issue: 3 4. http://www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? issn=0967-0734&volume=18&issue=3&articleid=1864041&show=abstract 5. http://www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? issn=0967-0734&volume=18&issue=7 6. http://blcdocs. cox. smu. edu

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