The Taming of the Shrew Essay Example for Free

The Taming of the Shrew Essay The servants in the play are mainly dopey and dim-witted. They fool around stage acting stupidly and behaving erratically. As the majority of the audiences would not have had a proper education, so they would rely on these exaggerated actions and visual antics. An example of this would be when Petruchio returns home after the wedding, only to find his servants gossiping. A frantic scene follows where the servants all end up falling over each other etc. This kind of foolish behaviour would have entertained un-educated Elizabethan audiences. All comedies by Shakespeare follow the same simple structure, similar to all other plays. The play starts with an exposition stage, which is when the story emerges and things start to go wrong and get out of hand. Next is the complication stage, which is when the play becomes even more complicated and everyone appears stuck. However, finally is the resolution stage where all the problems are solved. In tragedy plays, the play ends with the death of the hero or heroine, but in the majority of comedy plays, the play ends with a marriage. The tangled plot has been unwoven and problems solved. Petruchio immediately sets out to tame Katherina and her wild personality. Not only is he physically stronger than her, he is also wittier this is constantly apparent as he persistently winds Kate up: Pet. You lie, in faith for you are calld plain Kate, And bonny Kate, and sometimes Kate the curst; But Kate, the prettiest Kate in Christendom. Kate of Kate Hall, my super-dainty Kate, In this quotation, Petruchio is outlining his superiority over Katherina by winding her up by being patronising. After a direct order to not call her Kate, Petruchio goes on to persistently call her Kate to show his power. This not only annoys her, but weakens her and wears her down. He shows that he is not afraid to confront her making it clear from the outset that he is out to tame her. Petruchios methods of taming Katherina would appear disrespectful to modern audiences however they would have merely been humorous to Elizabethans. Throughout the play, the taming process continues, becoming more severe as the play progresses. At one point, Petruchio starves Kate, and deprives her of sleep to physically weaken her. Much of Petruchios speeches consist of cs and ks. This harsh phonology could suggest his dominance. Also, the majority of Kate repetitions are stressed using iambic pentameter. After a long taming period, Kate eventually caves in. She begins to realize that the only way she is going to get what she wants is to agree with what ever Petruchio says. Kat: Young budding virgin, fair and fresh and sweet Pet: Why, how now Kate. I hope thou are not mad. This is a man, old, wrinkled, witherd This is said directly after Petruchio comments there a beautiful young woman present. This also adds comedy to the play, as the person being addressed is in fact an old rather fat man, nothing like a beautiful young woman. This is a pivotal moment in the play as it is the turning point, where Katherina finally gives into Petruchios unrelenting taming process. After this, Petruchios taming of Kate is complete.

Significance of Departmental Accounting

Significance of Departmental Accounting This report has done on wide research of financial accounting. This report has five parts. First part includes departmental accounting and its significance. Second part shows a calculation for a given question. Third part includes four fundamental accounting concepts such as going concern, matching concept, prudence and consistency with examples. Forth part includes users and uses of financial accounting and statements. Finally fifth part shows a significance of local community for businesses and corporate social governance, how it began and its importance. 1.0 Departmental Accounts Departmental accounts may be stated as a procedure of book-keeping and accounting, the reason of which is to find how much profit (or loss) is made by each section or department of a business. In this context the term department means an income making department, as dealing outcomes will not be obtained for non-revenue making department for example maintenance, trading or management, etc. (Pendlebury Groves, 2004). If an enterprise comprise of five independent activities, or is divided into five departments, for carrying on separate functions, its management is generally involved in finding out the working outcomes of each department to ascertain their relative efficiencies. This can be made likely only if departmental accounts are prepared. Departmental accounts are of great help and assistance to the managements as information for commanding the enterprise more intelligently and effectively, since thereby all kinds of waste either of material or of cash are readily detected; furthermore attention is drawn to inadequacies or inefficiencies in the working of departments or units into which the enterprise may be divided (Pendlebury Groves, 2004). Significance of Departmental Accounts Preparation of Departmental accounts is helpful to the business in the following respects: Easy to comparing the performance of each departments Departmental accounts enable the businesses to compare the performance of one department with another department. It also helps an organisation to rank departments using their earning values. The overall profit on sales, namely RM 490,000 on a turnover of RM 2,730,000 is probably quite satisfactory; yet in the absence of departmental accounting the loss incurred by Department C and D would not be revealed. Easy to evaluate departmental growth Departmental accounting helps an organisation to evaluate each departmental growth separately on the basis of trading results over period of time. An endeavour may be made to push up the sales of the department which is earning maximum profit. To explain it further here is an illustration: The above table shows an individual product growth of ABC organisation for three years. Product D is a continuous loss making product whereas other products such as profit for product C is continuously decreasing over a period of time. Using departmental accounting for this organisation became easier for management to evaluate the performance of these products. Decision making Departmental accounting makes it simplier for management to make conclusions if they are having more than one product, they can actually forecast the future performance of a product. Most of the time decision includes some questions such as whether a product is profitable or not, if the product is not profitable whether they should continue to produce that product or just eliminate it, what would be consequences of eliminating a product. Here is a further interpretation using illustration 2. Management can actually decide whether they should continue to produce these five products based on their growth over a period of time. Let say product D as this product is continuously making loss since 2009, it became easier for management to decide whether they should produce product D or they should eliminate this product. Furthermore they can rank the product based on their profits. For example Product B is the most profitable product. Easy to prepare departmental budget Departmental budgeting assists an organisation to prepare budgets for each department. A budget ensures that an organisation can pay for costs for all products and dont have risk of going into debt to keep business running. To construct a complete budget, an enterprise must understand how to set aside finances for each department and understand how each department works simultaneously to make up the full-scale plan. ABC organisation can actually evaluate whether they can afford these departments or not. If we compare Department B and Department C, then B is a profitable department whereas C is loss making department. Now the management have to decide whether they can afford expenses for Department C in next year or not because they are not sure whether it can generate profit or not in next. 3.0 Four Fundamental Accounting Concepts 3.1 Going Concern Concept The going concern concept assumes that business will persist with its business activities in the foreseeable future; thus the accountant will not suppose that there is a desire to cut back on business operations or an intention to liquidate. The significance of this concept is that items should be valued not at their break-up value but at their net book value, based on the estimation of the cost of the depreciation provision. Without this assumption, preparation of the balance sheet would be much more difficult (Pizzey, 2001). Examples of going concern concept The RM 2.6 billion inventory for Sara Ltd in 2012 is reported at the cost originally paid to purchase the inventory. This is a reasonable figure because, in the normal course of business, Sara Ltd can expect to sell the inventory for this amount, plus some profit. But if it were assumed that Sara Ltd would go out of business tomorrow, the inventory would suddenly be worth a lot less. The going concern concept allows the accountant to record assets at what they are worth to a company in normal use rather than what they would sell for in a liquidation sale (Pizzey, 2001). Another example is fixed assets, we show fixed asset at cost less depreciation to rather their current value in the second-hand market, because they are held by the firm not for immediate resale, but to be used by the business until their working life is over. This is clearly an assumption on which the balance sheet is based (Pizzey, 2001). Before the accounts are certified as showing a true and fair view, the auditor must be satisfied that the company is a going concern and that it will continue to function successful in the future (Pizzey, 2001). This the profit measurement calculation is insulated from fluctuations in the value of fixed assets, and the spread of the capital cost of an asset over the years of its useful life, by depreciation, is supported by this principle (Pizzey, 2001). 3.2 Matching concept This is sometimes called the accruals principle. Its purpose is to match effort to accomplishment by setting the cost of resources used up by a certain activity against the revenue or benefits received from that activity. When a profit statement is compiled, the cost of the goods sold should be set against the revenue from the sale of those goods, even though cash has not yet been received. Expense and revenue must be matched up so that they concern the same goods and time period, if a true profit is to be computed. Costs concerning a future period must be carried forward as a prepayment and charged in that period, and not charged in the current profit and loss account. Expenses of the current period not yet entered in the books must be estimated and inserted accruals (Pizzey, 2001). Example of matching concept Jason pays rent for his guest house of 1000 RM per year, in a lump sum at the end of the year. If he did not use the accruals concept, accounts would show zero rent expenses for the first eleven months of operation and then a heavy rent expense at the end of the 12th month. In order to show more realistic and accurate monthly profit and loss accounts, he should accrue the sum of RM 1000/12 and then adjust for any differences at the end of the year. 3.3 Prudence Concept The prudence concept is often referred to as the conservatism concept. The preparation of accounts requires judgements to be made about the future and because of the uncertainties associated with this a prudent or cautious approach is required profit determination. Under this concept all expected losses should be taken into account immediately they are known about, whereas expected gains are not recognised until actually realized. An example of the widespread use of the prudence concept is closing stock valuation. The normal rules is that closing stock should be valued at cost but if the market value of the stock falls below cost then the market value should be used. This is the lower of cost or net realizable value that is generally applied to stock valuations (Pendlebury Groves, 2004). The prudence concept is clearly useful in terms of preventing over-optimistic calculations of profit to be reported. Overstatement of profit might lead excessive dividend payments being made or to incorrect investment decision being taken. However, the concept of prudence should not be taken to excess because the understatement of profit which would result might be just as misleading as overstatement and might discourage investment unnecessarily (Pendlebury Groves, 2004). 3.4 Consistency Concept In accounting there are often several acceptable ways of determining asset values and the proportion of the cost of assets that should be borne by each accounting period. The consistency concept requires there to be consistency if treatment of like items within each accounting period and from one period to the next. In other words once one of the generally accepted methods is chosen then the method should usually be used consistently from year to year (Pendlebury Groves, 2004). However, if there are compelling and justifiable reasons for changing the method of valuing a particular item. E.g. closing stock, then this is permitted under the consistency concept, but the impact of the change on current year profit and the impact the change would have had on accounts of the previous year should be reported to provide comparability (Pendlebury Groves, 2004). 4.0 Users and Uses of financial statements and accounting information There are different kinds of users of financial statements. The users of financial statements may be inside or outside the business. They use financial statements for a large variety of business purposes and their ability to understand and analyse financial statements helps them to succeed in the business world. 4.1 Classification of Users of Financial accounting Information The five users of financial statements are classified and explained as follows: Investors Investors are concerned about risk and return in relation to their investments. They require information to decide whether they should continue to invest in a business. They also need to be able to assess whether a business will be able to pay dividends, and to measure the overall performance of the business management (Riley, 2012). Customers Customers require information about the ability of the business to survive and prosper. As customers of the companys products, they have a long-term interest in the companys range of products and services. They may even be dependent on the business for certain products or services (Riley, 2012). Employees Employees are seeking security of employment and a return for the work they do. Employees would therefore be looking for indications that the company is doing well enough to continue to trade into the future and is doing well enough to continue to employ them and is able to meet the salary and wages bill each month. If there is any profit or performance related component to the remuneration they will also be interested in the company performance and how close it is to triggering the bonus payments (Riley, 2012). Government There are many government agencies and departments that are interested in accounting information. For example, the IRCE needs information on business profitability in order to levy and collect Corporation Tax. For example: Various regulatory agencies (e.g. the Competition Commission and the Environment Agency) need information to support decisions about takeovers and grants (Riley, 2012). Bankers The banks are a common source of short term funds for an organisation, and the place where cash is deposited as it is received. If the bank gives loan to the company then they will be interested in the ability of the company to pay its interest and the loan amount back on the due dates. How profitable the company is and how good it is being managed will be important areas they will look at. In the case of small businesses this will revolve around the faith they have in the owner/manager (Riley, 2012). 4.2 Classification of uses of financial accounting information Accounting provides companies with various pieces of information regarding business operations. It is often conducted by a companys internal accounting department and reviewed by a public accounting firm. Small businesses often have significantly less financial information recorded during the accounting process. However, business owners often review this financial information to determine how well their business is operating. Accounting information can also provide insight on growing or expanding current business operations (Vitez, 2012). Performance Management A common use of accounting information is measuring the performance of various business operations. While financial statements are the classic accounting information tool used to assess business operations, business owners may conduct a more thorough analysis of this information when reviewing business operations. Financial ratios use the accounting information reported on financial statements and break it down into leading indicators. These indicators can be compared to other companies in the business environment or an industry standard. This helps business owners understand how well their companies operate compared to other established businesses (Vitez, 2012). Create Budgets Business owners often use accounting information to create budgets for their companies. Historical financial accounting information provides business owners with a detailed analysis of how their companies have spent money on certain business functions. Business owners often take this accounting information and develop future budgets to ensure they have a financial road map for their businesses. These budgets can also be adjusted based on current accounting information to ensure a business owner does not restrict spending on critical economic resources (Vitez, 2012). Business Decisions Accounting information is commonly used to make business decisions. Decisions may include expanding current operations, using different economic resources, purchasing new equipment or facilities, estimating future sales or reviewing new business opportunities. Accounting information usually provides business owners information about the cost of various resources or business operations. These costs can be compared to the potential income of new opportunities during the financial analysis process. This process helps business owners understand how current business operations will be affected when expanding or growing their businesses. Opportunities with low income potential and high costs are often rejected by business owners (Vitez, 2012). Investment Decisions External business stakeholders often use accounting information to make investment decisions. Banks, lenders, venture capitalists or private investors often review a companys accounting information to review its financial health and operational profitability. This provides information about whether or not a small business is a wise investment decision. Many small businesses need external financing to start up or grow. The inability to provide outside lenders or investors with accounting information can severely limit financing opportunities for a small business (Vitez, 2012). 5.0 Why community is important for an organisation A local community is a group of interacting people sharing an environment. In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness (Post, Lawrence, Weber, 1999). Business activity occurs within a community, and it is important that the community is considered in major business decisions. Businesses face community in different roles such as they could be potential employees and customers who can help the organisation be successfully. Without the community there would be no business. Community can influence business in different manners such as (Post, Lawrence, Weber, 1999) Customers as a community Community can decrease demand for an organisations product because customers are also a part of community. If businesses affect community in a negative manner such as providing low quality product, harming environment by pollution and so on, then customers as a part of community will start reducing their demand for that particular businesses product. If demand for their product will decrease then the company would be making a serious loss and without making profit, an organisation cannot survive (Taylorr, 2010). Employees as a community Employees are also a part of community and they also have a power to influence an organisation. If an organisation does not play a good role in community, then employees can actually strike or stop working in that organisation. Labour strike is a serious problem for an organisation because it can reduce the production. Reduction in production can also be a loss making situation for an organisation (Taylorr, 2010). Investors as a community Investors also play a role as a community for an organisation. By having a bad image in community, it stops investors to invest in particular businesses because investors are concern with their return on investments. If an organisation has a bad image on community, chances are high for decrease in stock value of an enterprise, which will effect investors decision of investing in a particular organisation (Taylorr, 2010). There are many other reasons which create a value of a local community for an organisation while making decisions. The best idea for survival of an entity is to have a good relationship with local community. 5.1 Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility means that a corporation should be held accountable for any of its actions that affect people, their communities, and their environment; it implies that negative business impacts on people and society should be acknowledged and corrected if at all possible. It may require a company to forgo some profits if its social impacts are seriously harmful to some of its stakeholders or if its funds can be used to promote a positive social good (Post, Lawrence, Weber, 1999). 5.1.1 How corporate social responsibility began In the United States, the idea of corporate social responsibility appeared around the turn of the twentieth century. Corporation at that time came under attack for being too big, too powerful, and guilty of antisocial and anticompetitive practices. Critics tried to curb corporate power through antitrust laws, banking regulations, and consumer-protection laws. Faced with this kind of social protest, a few farsighted business executives advised corporations to use their power and influence voluntarily for broad social purposes rather than for profit alone. Some of the wealthier businesses leaders for example steelmaker Andrew Carnegie became great philanthropists who gave much of their wealth to educational and charitable institutions. Other like, automaker Henry Ford, developed paternalistic programs to support the recreational and health needs of their employees. The point to emphasize is that these business leaders believed that business had a responsibility to social that went beyond or worked in parallel with their efforts to make profits (Post, Lawrence, Weber, 1999). As a result of these early ideas about businesss expanded role in society, two broad principles emerged which are: The Charity Principle and The Stewardship Principle. These principles have shaped business thinking about social responsibility during the twentieth century and are the foundation stones for the modern ideas of corporate social responsibility (Post, Lawrence, Weber, 1999). 5.1.2 Importance of Social Governance in businesses An easy way to build its brand, reputation and public profile Being socially responsible creates goodwill and a positive image for an organisation. Trust and a good reputation are some of companys most valuable assets. In fact, without these, one wouldnt even have a business. One can nurture these important assets by being socially responsible (Taylorr, 2010). It is however, crucial that an organisation devise the right socially responsible program for their business. When used properly, it will open up a myriad of new relationships and opportunities. Not only will an association success grow, but so will companys culture. It will become a culture which an entity, its staff and the wider community genuinely believe in (Taylorr, 2010). It attracts and retains staff Socially responsible companies report increased employee commitment, performance and job satisfaction. By attracting, retaining and engaging staff, doing well for others reduces an organisations recruitment costs and improves work productivity (Taylorr, 2010). It attracts more customers Branding business as socially responsible differentiates it from competitors. The Body Shop and Westpac are companies who have used this to their advantage. Developing innovative products that are environmentally or socially responsible add values and gives people a good reason to buy from that organisation (Taylorr, 2010). It attracts more investors Investors and financiers are attracted to companies who are socially responsible. These decision-makers know this reflects good management and a positive reputation. Businesses should not underestimate this influence; it can be just as important as a companys financial performance. In fact, it may be the deciding factor in choosing to support company (Taylorr, 2010). It encourages professional and personal growth Employee can develop their leadership and project management skills through a well-designed corporate social responsibility program. This may be as simple as team building exercises, encouraging employees to form relationships with people they would not normally meet (Taylorr, 2010). It helps to cut business costs Environmental initiatives such as recycling and conserving energy increase in-house efficiency and cut costs. Introducing a corporate social responsibility program gives an organisation a good reason to examine and improve on its spending (Taylorr, 2010). 6.0 Conclusion After conducting this report we have learn that departmental accounting is compulsory for an organisation with more than one department because it make business activities more effective. Another thing we have learn is it very important for a survival in a local community to perform corporate social responsibilities, without doing right for community its hard for an organisation to survive in long term. Furthermore we have learnt that it is compulsory for businesses to apply fundamental concepts while preparing financial statements.

Challenges Faced By The Nomura Securities

Challenges Faced By The Nomura Securities Nomura Securities was founded in 1925 by Tokushichi Nomura II and it was the first Japanese securities company to establish an office outside Japan in 1927. Nomura Securities Co. Ltd is a subsidiary of Nomura Holdings. Inc, a Japanese financial holding company. Nomura Securities is the leading Brokerage house and Investment bank in Japan and performs equity and fixed-income trading, underwriting of stock and bond issues, MA advisory services. Until October 2008, most of Nomuras operations were mainly restricted within Japan and having made a number of unsuccessful attempts to expand into other key markets, the acquisition of Lehman proved to be a watershed deal. In order to expand its operations globally Nomura took over the Asian, European and Middle Eastern (EMEA) operations of Lehman brothers, an American investment bank after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Barclays took over Lehman brothers North American Operations. The acquisition of Lehman Brothers is expected to help Nom ura reach its goal of becoming one of the top five independent successful global investment banks. Before the acquisition of the Lehman businesses Nomura had an 18,000 strong workforce although a large part were based out of Japan, and greater than 90 % of its revenue from its local operations. After the acquisition, it retained over 8,000 former Lehman staff which meant Nomura had a difficult task in hand to integrate two very different corporate cultures. The union was termed as marriage of Tokyo and Wall street.'(FT.com, 2008) This was the first time when such a union had been attempted in the investment banking arena. The firm is still in its cultural transitional phase and its trying its best to overcome its teething problems. 1.2 Operations Nomuras operations are divided into three regions:- Asia-Pacific including Japan and India- Regional headquarter is in Hong Kong. Its operations are spread across 12 countries in the region. Americas- Regional headquarter is in New York. It operates from 6 strategically located offices in North and South America. Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Regional headquarter is in London. The operations are spread across 18 countries in the region. The banks global headquarters is in Tokyo, Japan. All of Nomuras business lines are coordinated globally and the regional heads report to their Tokyo-based business heads. Source: http://www.nomuraholdings.com/investor/summary/financial/data/2009_2q_leh.pdf http://www.nomuraholdings.com/investor/library/ar/2009/pdf/ar_all.pdf 1. 2 Vision Its long term vision is to become the top independent global investment bank. Source: http://www.nomura.com/europe/about_nomura/index.shtml Expansion of operations could render a firms organisational structure to become more complex as decision making takes more time. In order to make the decision making process faster and effective Nomura decided to reaffirm its matrix management style of organisation. Nomuras approach to decision making is quite centralised. Centralization means that the responsibility of making decisions is limited to those at the top of the organisations hierarchy. (Gordon, Pg 403)Decision making at Nomura is top down which consists of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on the top followed by the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and then five CEOs for each of its business division. The CEOs of business divisions are responsible for all the decision making of their division taking into consideration the management values adopted by the Nomura group as a whole. All these heads are based in Japan. To oversee the companys European operations theres also a European Regional Head. 2.1 Matrix Structure Matrix structure is an integration of a Functional and a Market Oriented structure. Functional structure groups people according to their skill set. It allows division of labour as specialisation which makes the organisation more effective. On the other hand in a Market Oriented structure employees are grouped according to product, project, client or geographical area. A Matrix structure team has two heads i.e. one being the functional head and other a regional head. Matrix structure helps in flexibility of employees as per the changing needs of the organisation. It also aids in prompt decision making and brings about diversity in skills and ideas. At Nomura, employees are grouped according to their expertise in various functional lines as well as relative experience in client servicing. The Lehman acquisition although brought in strong operational diversity and better branding the resultant organisational structure was mammoth and complex an HR nightmare possibly. Nomuras post-Lehman operational structure looks more diversified both from a product offering as well as a geographical stand-point; Nomura has three reportable geographic segments with a stronger talent pool and a broader franchise i.e. Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). It has appointed CEOs every business division stationed in Tokyo with every region having a regional head as well as a regional divisional head. 3. Organisation Culture Organisation Culture is defined as a set of shared values and beliefs that interact with an organizations people, structure, and systems to produce behavioural norms. (Harvey Brown, Pg 69) Every organisation has a unique culture. Nomura traditionally has been a conservative investor and largely risk-averse which seemed poles apart from the usual wall-street philosophy. The distinctions between Nomuras Japanese and American Corporate cultures are cited below: Employment Tenure- Employees in Japan are more likely married to their firms with most firms expecting to retain talent through long-term employment schemes. American firms, on the other hand have their eyes firmly set on profitability and return. Promotions- In Japan promotions are based on age and seniority whereas in America promotions are based more on performance. Payroll- Japanese Companies usually pay their employees a fixed salary with low or very little bonus whereas American firms have fixed salaries and employee bonuses are decided according to their performance. Decision Making- In Japanese companies decision making is top down whereas in American style companies managers have more delegation and authority. Therefore decision making in American firms is prompt. Attitude towards risk- Japanese are risk averse whereas Americans are more aggressive. Work Culture- Japanese work culture is very stiff in terms of dress code and punctuality to work whereas American culture is more flexible. Nomura hired 8,000 former Lehman employees. In order to keep the Lehman operations running Nomura had an uphill task of retaining Lehmans employees which meant it needed to change its organisation culture. Source: http://globalization.suite101.com/article.cfm/japanese_corporate_culture 4. SWOT Analysis Strengths- Lehman had a strong position in Europe and it had well developed IT and RD platforms. It possessed high velocity trade machines. Lehman was very active and was one of the best in the markets aided by a very skilled work force which gave Lehman a competitive edge. 95% of Lehmans employees accepted job offers given by Nomura. It is imperative for Nomura to effectively utilize the skill set and knowledge base in order to enhance its business prospects and also achieve economies of scale by resource integration. Weakness- Nomura needed to protect its human capital resulting in high employee costs right at the outset very much in line with Lehman tradition of keeping up higher pay outs. Nomura also needed to build its client franchise from scratch given its lack of presence in the EMEA region and also battle a growing reluctance from clients to trade with a relatively fresh and un-proven broker-dealer. It also initially suffered the baggage of the Lehman bankruptcy, which made it extremely difficult to convince clients and regulators as well as to its viability as a solvent counterparty. Opportunities- One could say that the recent credit crisis provided Nomura with a unique prospect of re-inventing itself. Additionally Nomuras traditional Asian advantage enabled it to push its franchise far more aggressively having added talent from Lehman. Nomura currently has a sound platform to launch a strong client-focussed business. Joint operations will create synergies and generate higher revenues as Nomura can be cost effective in running combined operations. It has a diverse set of services as well as workforce which can help them specialise in niche markets as well as create innovative products in investment banking. Threats- Market conditions are currently volatile across Europe while recovery in the Americas has been painfully gradual. Nomura continues to sustain high operational costs. Although Nomura is desperately trying to mould itself into a global player the inherent cultural clash remains, which could de-motivating for the employees. Source: http://n.ethz.ch/student/rebibr/projects/Lehman-Nomura.pdf 5. Organisational Change Organisations have to change in order to stay competitive. Changes in an organisations environment in terms of competition, new clients and diversity in workforce force an organisation to make changes to its culture. However these changes are significant to Nomuras goal to become a world-class investment bank. Organisational change represents any alteration to existing cultural fabric of an organisation. It happens when a company is growing and going through evolution in terms strategy. Nomura is adopting a behavioural approach to change i.e. its a planned change and it improves communication, group behaviour, leadership skills, and power relations by changing employees knowledge, skills, interactions and attitudes as well as the organisational culture.'(Gordon, Pg.460) The Organisational change was done in four Phases:- Create Synergies Promote efficiency Start Joint Operations Ex- Lehman staff Join Nomura PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 PHASE 4 Phase 1-Retain Lehman employees in order to smoothly run the acquired business. Phase 2- Integrate infrastructure as Nomura took over Lehmans Information Technology (IT) platform and Global Services in India. Phase 3- Making sure that the combined infrastructure and Operations are running efficiently. Phase 4- Joint operations will create synergies and generate high revenues. Source: http://www.nomuraholdings.com/investor/summary/financial/data/2009_2q_leh.pdf 5.1Changes in Nomura Compensation Structure- Nomura is seeking to follow Lehmans compensation structure of paying high performance bonus of its employees in line with global investment banking standards. Although Nomuras old employees were given a choice to choose Lehmans compensation structure of low basic pay and high performance bonuses. Over half of their old staff chose the Western compensation system which is very different from the traditional Japanese pay structure. Job Security- Earlier Nomuras employees had a better job security although compensation levels were average and very different from the Wall Street philosophy. With the current structure the employees would be offered performance-based bonuses and higher total compensation although the job security would be relatively absent. Complex Matrix- It has adopted a complex Matrix type of organisation structure to achieve flexibility and prompt decision making. Decision Making- Regional and Divisional managers are given more delegation. Traditionally decisions were taken in groups. Managerial Changes- Traditionally most of the senior managerial positions were handled by Japanese but recently three non Japanese Managing Directors have been appointed who are ex Lehman staff. Changes in Job Scope- In the past positions were decided according to age and seniority and now more emphasis is based on the skill set of the employees and their performance. The takeover of Lehman by Nomura looks like a reverse takeover as Nomura is trying to follow Lehmans Organisation cultures rather than super-imposing its own culture. This is because it realises the value of the ex Lehman staff as they can give them a competitive edge over other investment banks. Therefore its making sure that the ex Lehman staff is satisfied working at Nomura so that they can perform well and stay in the job. Another reason for adopting these changes could be that in the past Nomura had made some failed attempts to expand its business operations outside Japan. 5.2 The Change Process The change process of Nomura could be explained with the help of Kurt Lewin Model. The model describes the change process in three stages which are as follows:- 1. Unfreezing- Creating awareness of a need for change and create the right environment for change. Giving old Nomuras employees an option to change their compensation structure is a method of unfreezing as its older employees realise that their counterparts from Lehman will be earning higher. This could have put pressure on Nomuras employees to perform according to Lehmans expectations and thus forcing them to change to the new culture. 2. Change- Making the change. In Nomura this was done through changing its management structure, educating employees and motivating them to work together as a team. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Nomura, Mr. Takumi Shibata acknowledged that there were cultural differences in integrating the two companies but they were focused to work as one team, one firm. 3. Refreezing- A firm has to cement the change and make it its organisation culture. In Nomuras case, they are still undergoing change as the takeover took place only a year and half back. However the progress so far achieved has been no less spectacular given the hard line differences and size of operation. Source: http://www.mansis.com/freeze.htm Nomura Annual Report 2009 6. Organisational Development Techniques Organization development is a system-wide application of behavioural science knowledge to the planned development and reinforcement of organizational strategies, structures, and processes for improving an organizations effectiveness.(Cummings and Worley, Pg 2) Nomura believes in upgrading the skills of its employees through its employee development programmes. This is done so that an employees potential could be maximised at work. Employees are given authority to demonstrate their skills, abilities and they are evaluated on the basis of their performance. In order to enrich the careers of its employees Nomura initiated comprehensive education and training programmes. In 2006, it launched a Happy career and life project which aimed to help its employees maximise their potential. Nomura initiated training in global business etiquette in seven of its offices worldwide including Japan so that the employees could understand the differences in culture and background. This was done to increase responsiveness among its employees so that they understand the importance of building relationship with customers and fellow employees. In 2008, Nomura established Diversity and Inclusion offices in Europe and Asia Pacific. Diversity and inclusion is about respecting human rights and offering equal opportunities within organizations regardless of gender, age, race, faith, or values and harnessing peoples talent.'(Nomura Holdings Website) This programme was introduced to unleash employee potential and capitalize on value. Under this Nomuras Human Resource department will analyse the HR processes such as promotion, recruitment and performance management so that their diverse workforce is well managed. In order to prevent discrimination based on age, race and gender Nomura orga nised 29 training sessions and over 14,000 employees attended the training. Nomura has also created support systems for its female employees in terms of proving more childcare leave and offering assistance with the day care expenses of infants. Source: http://www.nomuraholdings.com/csr/stakeholder/employee/diversity.html http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/04/investment-bank-nomura-launches- multi-strand-equality-strategy.htm 7. Conclusion Nomuras long term aim is to become a World class investment bank. After the acquisition, Nomura has achieved market gains in Asia (excluding Japan) and Europe. They are aggressively building business in the US market. Nomuras revenue from markets outside Japan has increased significantly after the acquisition of Lehman Brothers operations in Europe and Asia. Net revenue from its Asia and Europe divisions surpassed Japan in two of the four quarters for the first time. Clearly the integration has benefited Nomura as its revenue from its overseas operations has increased significantly. The Acquisition has generated immense synergies and its helping Nomura to achieve its goal of becoming a World Class Investment Bank. The two firms complement each other in terms of products, geographical locations and customers. Till now the acquisition has proved to be a good one but in the long run Nomura will have to address to a lot of challenges in terms of culture while maintaining balance between American and Japanese culture to keep its new as well as its old employees satisfied. It was easy for Nomura to retain ex Lehman employees as when the takeover took place as the market conditions were bad but once the market conditions stabilise employees might look for greener pastures. Therefore, Nomura has to a task of retaining its employees in the long run as employees are its biggest assets. Source:http://www.financeasia.com/News/174347,nomuras-emergence-as-a-global-investment-bank.aspx?refresh=on 8. Recommendations Most of the success stories on Wall Street have been of firms following a singular cultural philosophy across their businesses. Although the sweeping changes at Nomura have been largely well received by its employees, the company is a long way from realising its potential in the market-place. It needs to inculcate the performance-based compensation spirit amongst its Japanese employees while at the same time relying on Japanese practical wisdom of conservatism. Also behavioural changes in terms of better group dynamics, equal-opportunities irrespective of race, sex and age should be inculcated given the largely male dominated Japanese society. Nomura should take the culture change slowly as it has to keep its employees in Japan in high spirits. They might feel less motivated and think that new employees are more important to the company. Rather than the top management deciding how to change the organisation culture the decision should be taken collectively involving all its employees. Nomura should not get too carried away by the increase in revenues in overseas markets. It has to make sure that the upward trend in revenue generation continues without any holdups. Nomura should not get too Americanized in terms of risk adverse attitude. American banking approach allows managers to take risks which can be very disastrous. It should follow a mixture of Japanese risk averse and American risk adverse attitude in other to run the operations successfully without any turbulence in these volatile economic conditions. Lastly, there should be team building activities in which new and old employees should play an active part. Both old and new employees should work together as a team in order to make Nomura a successful global investment bank.

Reflection Upon A Critical Incident Essay -- Reflection Upon Nursing S

This paper will reflect upon and explore a critical incident which occurred whilst attending a clinical placement. Reflective practice has become very popular over the last few decades throughout a variety of professions. In some professions it has become one of the defining features of competence. The wide spread utilization of reflective practice is due to the fact that it ‘rings true’ (Loughran, 2000). Within different disciplines, what is understood by reflective practice varies considerably (Fook et al, 2006). Despite this, some agreement has been achieved. In general, reflective practice is understood as the process of learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and/or practice (Boud et al 1985; Boyd and Fales, 1983; Mezirow, 1981, Jarvis, 1992). This often involves examining assumptions of everyday practice. It also tends to involve the individual practitioner in being self-aware and critically evaluating their own responses to practice situations. The point is to recapture practice experiences and think about them critically in order to gain new understandings. This is understood as part of the process of life-long learning. Critical Incident Definition Critical Incidents are regarded as valuable learning tools for nurses. (Bailey 1995). Nurses are responsible for providing quality of care to patients (NMC 2015). In order to provide this care there is a need to have the ability to critically think, problem solve, make judgement and contribute to planning. Through the use of Critical thinking these skills can be developed, which can allows the nurse to analysis the situation through evidence , logical thinking and the actions that lead to the incident and will result in a change of p... ...lassets/siteDocuments/NMC-Publications/NMC-Standards-for-medicines-management.pdf O'Shea, Ellen (1999) Factors contributing to medication errors: a literature review Journal of Clinical Nursing 8:496-504] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2702.1999.00284.x/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false Parkinson's Disease National Clinical Guideline for Diagnosis and Management in Primary and Secondary Care (2006) NICE Clinical Guidelines, No. 35. London: Royal College of Physicians (UK) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK48513/ Parkinson's UK (2015) http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/news/news-topics/research Pyne, R. On being accountable. (1988) Health Visitor Jun;61(6):173-5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3378907 "Understanding Parkinson's" Parkinson's Disease Foundation (2015) http://www.pdf.org/symptoms

Macbeths Conscience in Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- essays research

William Shakespeare’s seventeenth century tragedy, Macbeth, tells the story of Macbeth, whose ambition leads him to murder his close friends. In the play, he is told that he will become king, but to speed up the process he is convinced to kill the current king, Duncan. Although he is portrayed as a vile, evil character, the scene before he murders Duncan, his thoughts after the murder, and his encounters with his friend’s ghost show that Macbeth truly is a man of conscience. After his wife encourages Macbeth to kill King Duncan when he visits their home, Macbeth truly considers the idea. Shakespeare allows his character to mull over the act and consequences in a soliloquy which, â€Å"not only weighs the possible bad practical consequences of his act but shows him perfectly aware, in a way an evil man would not be, of moral values involved: ‘First I am his kinsman and subject Strong as both against the deed, then as his host, Who should against his murderers shut the door Not bear the knife myself’† (Scott 156) Macbeth is fully aware of the crime he commits. Before comm... Macbeth's Conscience in Shakespeare's Macbeth Essay -- essays research William Shakespeare’s seventeenth century tragedy, Macbeth, tells the story of Macbeth, whose ambition leads him to murder his close friends. In the play, he is told that he will become king, but to speed up the process he is convinced to kill the current king, Duncan. Although he is portrayed as a vile, evil character, the scene before he murders Duncan, his thoughts after the murder, and his encounters with his friend’s ghost show that Macbeth truly is a man of conscience. After his wife encourages Macbeth to kill King Duncan when he visits their home, Macbeth truly considers the idea. Shakespeare allows his character to mull over the act and consequences in a soliloquy which, â€Å"not only weighs the possible bad practical consequences of his act but shows him perfectly aware, in a way an evil man would not be, of moral values involved: ‘First I am his kinsman and subject Strong as both against the deed, then as his host, Who should against his murderers shut the door Not bear the knife myself’† (Scott 156) Macbeth is fully aware of the crime he commits. Before comm...

Methods to Cope with Life in Extreme Climates Essay

People use varying methods to cope with life in extreme climates. An extreme climate is an area with an abnormal weather pattern which increases the difficulty to survive. An example of where people have adapted to survive is in Australia. Australian settlers have spent countless decades refining complex methods of withstanding the astringent conditions of the outback. People in central Australia use a wide variety of methods and approaches to struggle against the sweltering heat. One example of this is the construction of houses cut from shear rock. This is a brilliant method of coping with the weather as it keeps your house the same temperature through the day and night. This is because in the day it is sheltered and cool and at night the rock radiates any heat it has absorbed through the course of the day, eradicating any need for central heating or air conditioning. This saves any costs or pollution from the man made systems. An example of this is shown in a hotel known as Prairie Hotel. They had an extension built onto the hotel underground with no additional heating or electrical bills as it sustains itself in that sense. Another way that people in Australia have adapted to living in extreme climates is by wearing longer, but thinner clothing. This is not what most members of the general British public would expect as we tend to wear short clothes so as to keep cool. However the risk of sunburn is so great it is not worth it. Many of the explorers who first tried to map Australia died of sun stroke because of that fact. However, the native Aborigines do not nee to wear long clothes as their skin has learned to cope with the heat on its own. Another way that Australians lead a different lifestyle from us in order to cope with the extreme weather and scale of the deserts is to generate their own electricity privately. This is so as to save the costs of laying millions of pounds of cable and paying the bills. Additionally as Australia is near free from cloud cover in the outback, what other technology would you use but solar power. It may be expensive, but not when focused in comparison to the costs to the cable company and the electrical firm. Moreover, it can also help the environment by lessening the number of people draining our coal reserves to make power. In conclusion, I think that the original statement is true as shown by the evidence above. The most major of these being the fact that they generate much more of their own power. I believe that it would be fantastic if more MEDCs adopted this, however in ones such as Britain and the Republic of Ireland the overall climate is far to cloudy to be able to generate solar power. However many other of their ideas and ways of life are easily transferable to other cultures which could help make the world a more sustainable and better place to live.

Case Study: King of the Hill Essay

1) What leadership traits account for Denny Hill’s success? Denny is using the perfect traits of a teacher keeping the swim team interested so they do not lose focus in the meeting or the workouts. Denny also shows his team confidence, in himself as well as in his team. Due to this Denny has the faith of his team behind him and their truest in his abilities. 2) How would you describe Denny Hill’s leadership abilities? I believe Denny developed leadership abilities through hard work and practice, because the first year swim team did not do so good. Denny learned from his mistakes and took various steps to make himself a better leader. He also encouraged his swim team members to pick up leadership roles. 3) Leadership includes administrative skills, interpersonal skills, and conceptual skills. How does Denny Hill stack up on these skills? As a teacher Denny is well versed in administrative skills as he has to see to grades, progress reports, and even evaluating student progress on a daily basis. Denny’s interpersonal skills get tested on a daily basis with peer and student interaction. Denny has conceptual skills in that what he did for the swim team the previous year did not work. He had to re-evaluate the situation and come up with another workable plan for the swimmers. Denny is doing a good job utilizing these skills and taking the swim team in the right direction. 4) How does Denny Hill integrate task and relationship behaviors in his leadership? Denny does have task behaviors in his leadership as he has planning to do for the swim team which include team meetings. There is also relationship behaviors included in his leadership when he assigns the students to become a part of the leadership team. 5) From a relational perspective, how would you describe Denny Hill’s leadership? Denny Hill’s leadership is interactive where the swim team has the ability to share leadership roles, authority, and influence. 6) In what way does Denny Hill’s coaching exemplify leadership as an influence process? Denny utilized his influence on the swim team so they can reach common goals. Denny wants a winning swim team and the swimmers want to win, as well as, want to make their leader proud. Reference Northouse, P. (2015). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice (Third ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.