Performance Appraisals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Performance Appraisals - Essay Example She points out that many managersdo not pay much attention to filling appraisal forms something that has some negative effect on the morale of the employees who work under them (Quast, 2013). However, she points out the importance of managers paying much attention to performanceappraisal because it is part of their work. She goes ahead andgive seven tips that can help managers in making performanceappraisal more meaningful to their organizations or groups. The first tip is paying more attentive to the preparation process. Lack of proper preparation has often been pointed to as a major contributor to unsuccessful performance appraisal. Through preparation a manager can be able to know the exact message that they want to communicate to the employees. This means that performance appraisal should not be handled like just a one hour thing. The second tip that a manager can get from this article is always make considerations for the logistics of the discussion. For instance, a manger should hold performance appraisal in place that whatever is discussed will remain confidential. A small conference room will be highly ideal for this purpose. The third tip that Lisa givesis that managers should always make sure that they open the discussions with the agenda. This will help in putting the employees at ease. The four primary areas that a manager should make sure that the performance appraisal cover include: the current performance of the company; the past performance of the company; the goals and objectives of the company; and the company’s development plans. The forth tip is to encourage a two way discussion whereby all the participants will be allowed to contribute. Getting the employees’ point of view will make it easier for them to be included to the achievement of the company’s goals. The fifths tip encourages managers to give praises whenever there is any meaningful contribution by an employee (Murphy &

The Direct Control of the Organization Coursework

The Direct Control of the Organization - Coursework Example As a part of this assignment, the researcher will be primarily analysis the macro-environment of Virgin Mobile  UK in view of highlighting the factors that affect its strategic decisions. Political Factors: Corporate tax rate is a factor that affects the financial performance of a company significantly. The corporate tax rate in the UK during the time period 1999 and 2007 was 30% which was considerably higher than the corporate tax rate recorded during the time period between 2008 and present (Trading Economics, 2014). The amount paid as corporate tax depleted the margin of profit realized by Virgin Mobile in between 1999 and 2007 however, the company still managed to be highly profitable. Virgin Mobile UK targeted the prepay customers within the age group 18-35. It enjoyed the advantages of mobile phone subsidies which gave them a three months payback as opposed to a three years contract. This regulation proved to be immensely beneficial for Virgin Mobile UK and was evident in the increased profit margin for the company. Other political factors that influenced the Telecom industry in the UK which in turn affected Virgin Mobile’s strategic decisions are: The present political scenario in the country facilitates an environment of deregulation. As a result of that, the intensity of competition in the UK telecom industry has amplified by a significant margin. The existence of a highly competitive environment has also increased the bargaining as well as negotiating power of buyers. Similarly, due to the deregulation from EU front, the mobile market in the UK is expected to face steep competition from telecom companies based in other countries within Europe. According to the predictions of the company, the political factors in the UK telecom industry will be in favor of the company in the upcoming years.As far as the challenges faced while conducting the internal environment analysis is concerned, word count proved to be the restricting factor in this case as well. The research could not explain the key resources of the company in depth and detail. In addition, other tangible assets that form the part of a company’s key resources could not be incorporated into the analysis. Furthermore, there was no scope for conducting any comparative analysis. A comparative analysis with a competing company could have induced robustness within the research, but the scarcity of data prevented the researcher from conducting any such analysis. The financial performance of the company was also not evaluated properly. However, the same was necessary in order to ensure that having appropriate resources and capabilities did benefit the company as had been mentioned in the case study analysis.                          

Strategic Corporate Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Corporate Finance - Essay Example An investor must be paid some price for this sacrifice (Brigham & Weston, 2009). So the future value of the dollar-assuming a positive rate of interest-will always be higher than its present value. Another reason for interest being charged on capital is that capital is one of the factors of production that can give access to men, materials and machinery, help automate and speed up processes and productivity in a short time and this is why the demand for capital attracts a price called the interest rate (Rao, 2011). Why is it Important for Financial Managers to Understand the Concept of Time Value of Money? Finance is the lifeblood of business and industry. Everything from running the day to day operations of an enterprise to meeting financial needs for future plans requires money. In fact investing surplus funds to get the best possible returns as well as keeping sufficient liquidity in the asset and liability mix is a key function of financial managers. They look at both present and future plans of the business and consider how to achieve these in the light of financial requirements (Crosson & Needles, 2008). This is why an understanding of the time value of money is of key importance to financial managers. They can match the funding and investment portfolios of the enterprise to get the best returns (Mathur, 1979). Calculations of the Future Value: a. $54,298 if invested for five years at a 7% interest rate FV= PV (1 + r)t FV= 52948(1 + 0.07)5 FV= 52948(1.07)5 FV= 52948 x 1.225 FV = $ 64,861. b. $99,112 if invested for three years at a 4% interest rate FV= PV (1 + r)t FV= 99112(1 + 0.04)3 FV= 99112(1.04)3 FV= 99112 x 1.125 FV = $ 111,501. c. $121,124 if invested for seven years at an 2% interest rate FV= PV (1 + r)t FV= 121124(1 + 0.02)7 FV= 112124(1.02)7 FV= 112124 x 1.149 FV = $128,830. d. $929,129 if invested for ten years with a 0.9% interest rate FV= PV (1 + r)t FV= 929129(1 + 0.009)10 FV= 929129(1.009)10 FV= 929129 x 1.09373 FV = $1,016,216. Calculation s of the Present Value: a. $455,126 to be received three years from now with a 4% Interest rate PV= FV/(1 + r)t PV= 455126/(1 + 0.04)3 PV= 455126/(1.04)3 PV= 455126 x 0.889 PV = $404,607. b. $289,231 to be received five years from now with a 5% interest rate PV= FV/(1 + r)t PV= 289231/(1 + 0.05)5 PV= 289231/(1.05)5 PV= 289231 x 0.864 PV = $249,896. c. $921,000 to received two years from now with a 12% interest rate PV= FV/(1 + r)t PV= 921000/(1 + 0.12)2 PV= 921000/(1.12)2 PV= 921000 x 0.797 PV = $734,037. d. $278,111 to be received eight years from now with a 1% interest rate. PV= FV/(1 + r)t PV= 278111/(1 + 0.01)8 PV= 278111/(1.01)8 PV= 278111 x 0.923 PV = $256,696. Suppose you are to receive a stream of annual payments (also called an "annuity") of $309,723 every year for three years starting this year. The interest rate is 4%. What is the present value of these three payments? PV of Annuity= PVA= A(PVFA)i,n PVA=309723(PVFA).04,3 PVA=309723 x 2.775 PVA=$859,481.32 Suppose you are to receive a payment of $239,201 every year for three years. You are depositing these payments in a bank account that pays 2% interest. Given these three payments and this interest rate, how much will be in your bank account in three years? FV of Annuity= FVAn=A(FVFA)i,n FVA=239201(FVFA).02,3 FVA=239201 x 3.060 FVA=$731,955. Evaluation of Module 2 Case Assignment The Module 2 case assignment gave me an opportunity to learn about the time value of

Case Analysis Leo Burnett Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Case Analysis Leo Burnett - Essay Example Leo Burnett merged its operations with a similar company in the advertising business in 2001 (O’Neil). However, LB did retain its name. Janet Carmichael was virtual team leader who headed the operation of the company. Gaining trust as a team leader requires developing precise plans and objectives, which would define the nature of relationship that should exist between the virtual groups. It is evident that geographical differences separated the groups. However, the team leader did not develop precise objective, which could enforce trust among the teams. The case projects lack of trust among teams, which led to their poor performance. Success of any project depends on its implementation plan. Carmichael did not develop implementation plan that would define the kind of role each team would play. Coordination is an important aspect that the virtual teams did not embrace. Communication office is a pillar in any successful company. LB London and its sister company in Toronto had a communication lapse, which is responsible for the woes that the company faced. Team leaders should ensure that they develop mechanisms which would enhance communication and timely information delivery. It is apparent that telephone calls and emails are not enough for business to realize its success. Team leader must be able to meet the virtual teams, share their problems and success, and finally project the way in which the team should operate. Virtual teams must be able to see defined protocols, which handle the problems that they may be having. Meetings are very important, especially when a company has various teams working in different locations. Meetings help the leader to identify any lapse that his or her team is facing. This would create trust between the team and its leader. The case illustrates ineffective communication between virtual teams and its consequences to the company. It is apparent that team leader should device effective ways which would give reflective

The Greater Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The Greater Freedom - Essay Example To begin with, the influence of the political class on judicial proceedings will be limited or completely prohibited. This is because politicians often threaten fair administration of justice, hence hindering citizen from airing grievances. The judiciary is thus not autonomous, and prevalence of justice is sabotaged. Secondly, the government will be held accountable through democratic platforms. This would be essential in promoting media freedom in covering proceedings of government business in parliament, and the experts airing views on governance. Lack of questioning or critique of the government breeds corruption and other dubious deals whose burden and effects are borne by the citizens. Thirdly, it will be beneficial to carry over the freedom of rights article from the First Amendment to the new nation, which includes speech, religion, petition, peaceful assembly, and free press. This is because the amendment was made at a time when the United States was experiencing a lot of turbulence due to the then government’s discrimination against those who defied its rulings no matter how weird they were. It was during this period that the people were allowed to be affiliated with their religious groups of choice, and speak freely unless in the case of slander or malice. However, this freedom of expression will be under certain limitations that will include obscenity, advertisement of harmful substances, offensive symbolic expressions, and inappropriate music.America is a technological hub.

The impact of Nike on the international markets in comparison to the Essay

The impact of Nike on the international markets in comparison to the local markets - Essay Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is Nike, Inc. as a firm that deals with design, improvement and marketing of different shoe types. Nike is regarded as the best seller in athletic shoes as well as athletic attire around the world. The company vends its commodities to retailers via its own retailer stores, internet marketing as well as through autonomous distributors and other licensed individuals and groups. The company vends approximately 18,000 retail records in the US through its retailers and distributors. The shoes that the firm deals in are specifically for athletic purposes. In addition, it makes other athletic shoes and attires for different games such as football and baseball. The company also vends other sporting accessories such as sporting or gaming bags and other protective gear utilized in various games. The principal competitors within this industry are Puma and Adidas, which offer the company numerous challenges in maintaining their high profile and sales. Since the adoption of Nike, in 1978, the company has extensively grown into a global company specialized in footwear and other products related to sports. The financial analysis of the corporation through scrutiny of its financial, income statements, as well as, balance sheets allows reviewing of the company financial health and other achievements over the years. Over the period, since the company establishment, the management of Nike has generated value for the shareholders through the progression of the company’s operations in overseas nations in an extensive manner. The company’s trading and earnings have surpassed the Wall Street approximations with respect to FY 06 (Stilga, 2006). The income for the company hit approximately $15 billion while its income per share hit a high up by 18 percent. In the last 5 years, the compounded rate per split elevated by 20 percent while the average of the gross margins came to 42 percent (Stilga, 2006). In the precedent year, the compa ny’s margins were 44 percent seeing an enormous rise in profits. Currently, the company’s management has optimized the wealth for its shareholders although the company performance in Nike’s footwear has declined. The footwear performance in the sector generated an average of approximately 14.25 percent whereas the progression in stock reached 10.48 percent (Stilga, 2006). In view of performance for the management, the performance can be considered not noteworthy provided the augment in share value serves as the point of reference. The Price to Book relative amount for Nike is 3.97 whereas the segment in which the corporation operates has a relative amount of 3.96. Similarly, the company has a Price to Tangible Book relative amount of about 4.26 whereas the sector that Nike operates presents a relative amount of about 4.44 (Stilga, 2006). The brand name and image of Nike is considered the strength of the company thus the competitive advantage. In addition, to the brand name and image of the company, the company has acquired other strong points in global operations. The company’s processes in international markets have gradually expanded coupled with innovations and creativity in fresh products. The operational expansions in global markets can also be ascribed to the capability in relating with its consumers. As a multinational company, Nike has impacted on almost all nations although it overseas ventures have raised concerns over claims in exploitation of its employees. The company gains a lot of revenues from global markets than its receives from the internal markets. The international operations of the company earned approximately $6.5 billion as compared to $5.1billion from its local or internal markets. Therefore, the international o

Current macroeconomic situation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Current macroeconomic situation - Assignment Example As much as the United States government is striving hard to curb recession, it is also trying to solve the problem of unemployment and inflation (Blundell and Roulet, 2013). Following the US statistics, there is a decrease in unemployment rate to approximately 7.8%. The implication of this is that there is a rise in the number of employed civilians thus, the gap between the employed and unemployed population is narrowing. With the existing tools such as The Federal Reserve, USA’s government is struggling to control inflation and recession. Members of the Federal Reserve meet privately after every six weeks to determine the direction the economy should take. One of their chief reasons for gathering is to come up with policies that can assist to put the inflation at equilibrium (Rosmy and Faruk, 2013). Moreover, they also struggle not to lead the economy into recession again. The Federal Reserve achieves this by the use of fiscal policy such as lowering and rising of tax, raising the military expenditure, increasing spending on infrastructure and reducing the public spending. Furthermore, the US government is trying to capitalize on expansionary fiscal policy to heighten the liquidity system with a lot of care not to exaggerate it. They are cautious not to release more money than required, into the economy, because it will lower the value of the dollar and stimulate inflation. Interest rates are drastically reducing and loans are difficult to obtain. This has no impact on businesses because the parties that require huge capitals, only from loans, cannot be granted the opportunity to get them. However, it is advantageous for investors because when the rate of interests is low, they are encouraged to borrow funds from other financial institutions to boost their businesses (Rosmy and Faruk, 2013). The government’s move to encourage investments increases the employment opportunities. The GDP of the United States America has experienced