The Bear Came Over the Mountain by Alice Munro

The Bear Came Over the Mountain by Alice Munro Alice Munro (b. 1931) is a Canadian writer who focuses almost exclusively on short stories. She has received numerous literary awards, including the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature and the 2009 Man Booker Prize. Munros stories, nearly all of which are set in small-town Canada, feature everyday people navigating ordinary life. But the stories themselves are anything but ordinary. Munros precise, unflinching observations unmask her characters in a way that is simultaneously uncomfortable and reassuring- uncomfortable because Munros x-ray vision feels as if it could easily unmask the reader as well as the characters, but reassuring because Munro’s writing passes so little judgment. It is hard to come away from these stories of ordinary lives without feeling as if youve learned something about your own. The Bear Came Over the Mountain  was originally published in the December 27, 1999, edition of The New Yorker. The magazine has made the complete story available for free online.  In 2006, the story was adapted into a film titled, directed by Sarah Polley.   Plot Grant and Fiona have been married for forty-five years. When Fiona shows signs of deteriorating memory, they realize  she needs to live in a nursing home. During her first 30 days there- during which Grant is not permitted to visit- Fiona seems to forget her marriage to Grant and develops a strong attachment to a resident named Aubrey. Aubrey is only in residence temporarily, while his wife takes a much-needed holiday. When the wife returns and Aubrey leaves the nursing home, Fiona is devastated. The nurses tell Grant that she will probably forget Aubrey soon, but she continues to grieve and waste away. Grant tracks down Aubreys wife, Marian, and tries to convince her to move Aubrey permanently to the facility. She cannot afford to do so without selling her house, which she initially refuses to do. By the end of the story, presumably through a romantic connection, he makes with Marian, Grant is able to bring Aubrey back to Fiona. But by this point, Fiona seems not to remember Aubrey but rather to have renewed affection for Grant. What Bear? What Mountain? You are probably familiar with some version of the folk/childrens song The Bear Came Over the Mountain.  There are variations of the specific lyrics, but the gist of the song is always the same: the bear goes over the mountain, and what he sees when he gets there is the other side of the mountain. So what does this have to do with Munros story? One thing to consider is the irony created by using a light-hearted childrens song as the title for a story about aging. Its a nonsense song, innocent and amusing. Its funny because, of course, the bear saw the other side of the mountain. What else would he see? The jokes on the bear, not on the singer of the song. The bears the one who did all that work, perhaps hoping for a more exciting and less predictable reward than the one he inevitably got. But when you juxtapose this childhood song with a story about aging, the inevitability seems less humorous and more oppressive. There is nothing to be seen except on the other side of the mountain. Its all downhill from here, not so much in the sense of being easy as in the sense of deterioration, and theres nothing innocent or amusing about it. In this reading, it doesnt really matter who the bear is. Sooner or later, the bear is all of us. But perhaps youre the kind of reader who needs the bear to represent a specific character in the story. If so, I think the best case can be made for Grant. It is clear that Grant has been repeatedly unfaithful to Fiona throughout their marriage, though he has never considered leaving her. Ironically, his effort to save her by bringing Aubrey back and putting an end to her grieving is accomplished through yet another infidelity, this time with Marian. In this sense, the other side of the mountain looks a lot like the first side. Came  or Went  Over the Mountain? When the story opens, Fiona and Grant are young university students who have agreed to get married, but the decision almost seems to be on a whim. He thought maybe she was joking when she proposed to him,  Munro writes. And indeed, Fionas proposal does sound only half-serious. Shouting over the waves at the beach, she asks Grant, Do you think it would be fun if we got married? A new section begins with the fourth paragraph, and the wind-blown, wave-crashing, youthful exuberance of the opening section has been replaced by a calmer sense of ordinary concerns (Fiona is trying to wipe away a smudge on the kitchen floor). Its clear that some time has passed between the first and second sections, but the first time I read this story and learned that Fiona was already seventy years old, I still felt a jolt of surprise.  It seemed that her youth- and their entire marriage- had been dispensed with too unceremoniously. Then I assumed that the sections would alternate. Wed read about the carefree younger lives, then the older lives, then back again, and it would all be sweet and balanced and wonderful. Except that isnt what happens. What happens is that the rest of the story focuses on the nursing home, with occasional flashbacks to Grants infidelities or to Fionas earliest signs of memory loss. The bulk of the story, then, takes place on the figurative other side of the mountain. And this is the critical difference between came  and went  in the title of the song. Though I believe went  is a more common version of the song, Munro chose came.  Went  implies that the bear is going away from us, which leaves us, as readers, safe on the side of youth. But came  is the opposite. Came  suggests that were already on the other side; in fact, Munro has made sure of it. All that we can see- all that Munro will allow us to see- is the other side of the mountain.

Googling Out of Control Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Googling Out of Control Case Study - Essay Example In the modern day context, culture has a major role to play supporting different business organisations to fulfil their respective predetermined business targets. The significant concern of organisational culture is regarded as a valuable aspect that includes norms, rules, values as well as working systems of the organisations. The behaviour of employees is considered to be the other vital aspect that is included in the culture of an organisation. It has been apparently observed that every organisation has its own approach towards building an effective workplace culture. Organisation culture is directly responsible for enhancing the overall performances of the organisations by a greater level. In this regard, the example of Google Inc. will depict a clear picture based on the above mentioned facts. It has been viewed in this similar background that Google possess a working culture in its workplace that gives maximum liberty to its employees concerning dress, eat and behave as well as to perform in accordance with what they desire. This can be regarded as one of the vital and the major reasons for the effective performance of the company throughout the globe. With this concern, this paper intends to elaborate and critically analyse the organisational culture and â€Å"Googley way of working†. Brief Overview of the Company (Google) Google Inc. is popularly known as one of the most widely used search engines of the world. It was established in the year 1998 as a global technology company which mainly focuses on improving the approach through which people acquire relevant information about any subject matter or topic. In the year 201, the company shifts its area of focus on search and advertising through which the company succeeded to attain substantial revenues. It has been learnt that the company was founded by the duo of Sergey Brin and Larry Page who were students in Stanford College. The prime motto of the company is to organize and provide all the information and make accessible to all people throughout the entire globe. The company has its official headquarter in California and operates in almost different corners of the globe. It has gained the reputation to be called as the leading search engine of the world (Google, 2013). Critical Analysis of the Organizational Culture of Google and its Way of Working Organisational culture is regarded to be one of the vital aspects that directly impose significant impact upon the overall performance of the companies by a considerable level. The notion i.e. organisational culture is typically regarded as the collective behaviour of the people belonging to any particular organisation. It has been viewed that cultures of any organisation encompasses values, norms, beliefs and working system among others. An organisation is identified from its culture which needs to be effectively organised. Organisational culture may be defined as shared value that preserve by members of any organisation so that it can present itself differently from other organisations. Different organisations possess dissimilar sorts of organisational culture. There pertain numerous characteristics that can be observed to be involved in the formation of an effective organisational culture. In this similar context, innovation and risk taking approach of the employees is amid the v ital characteristics of an organisation’s culture. Detailed analysis of a particular task is another feature of organisational culture. The degree to which the employees of any organisation give attention in every detail is also a part of organisation culture. Furthermore it has also been noted that working in teams and delivering desired results are

Common Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Common Law - Essay Example Once this process ceases, the parties are supposed to reach an agreement or abandon the process without an agreement. The traditional way of ascertaining whether or not an agreement has been reached is to apply the rules of offer and acceptance. An offer, when properly made by one party and accepted by another party, an agreement is said to take place. That is, on acceptance or at the moment of communication of acceptance, to be more precise. Though the process is simple, it raises several questions as to whether an offer has been made at all and who the offeror is.An offer can be made at auctions, tenders, by price list or advertisements. But these are not strictly offers but invitation to treat. See Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots 2 The offer comes in variety of forms that a formal communication of acceptance is not necessary in all cases. For example, advertisement of rewards and offers to the whole world. See Carlil v Carbolic Smoke ball & Co 3 Some times, questio n arises as to whether a silence can amount to acceptance. The agreement so formed by the process of offer and acceptance, should be supported by another element known as â€Å"consideration†. Consideration is something what the offeror and the acceptor are prepared to exchange for what he has been offered or has accepted.4 Gratuitous promises cannot be enforced as was established in Re Hudson,5 wherein Hudson’s executors were sued after his death for moneys owed by him on account of balance of donation he had promised give @  £ 4,000 per year for five years. The court held that money had been promised to be paid by him merely as a charity and not in exchange of some thing the donees had given him in return what is known as consideration in law. The position would have been different had Hudson executed a gift deed which could not be construed as a contract in any case. Thus, an offer is a proposal or promise by one person to another

Ultrasound Imaging Systems

Ultrasound Imaging Systems 1.1 INTRODUCTION An ultrasound scans also known as ultrasonography. Ultrasound will form the image by scanning using the high frequency sound waves. This device suitable to evaluate some part inside of the body. In physics, ultrasound is a sound with a frequency humans cannot hear. In diagnostic sonography, the ultrasound is usually between 2 and 18 MHz. (Anon 2012) 2.0 THE ULTRASOUND IMAGING SYSTEM Figure 1 : The principal functional components of an ultrasound imaging system.(Perry Sprawls n.d.) 2.1 TRANSDUCER The ultrasound transducer converts an electrical signal into the ultrasound beam. The signal transmitted into the patient’s body, and then alters the returning echo into an electrical signal for processing and display. It use single-element circular disk to both transmit and receive ultrasound. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 2.1.1 CONSTRUCTION OF TRANSDUCER Crystal of piezoelectric material with electrodes is the main part of the transducer. The electrodes are formed by plating a thin film of gold or silver on the crystal surface. The matching layer is located adjacent to the electrodes. The function is to improve the transfer of energy to and from the patient. All this part of the transducer is placed in an electrically insulating casing. This casing will give structural support. An acoustic insulator is made of rubber or cork it works to prevents the transmission of ultrasound energy into the casing. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 2.1.1.1 PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS When we change the transducer it will change the frequency too. A higher frequency transducer that produces a shorter wavelength has a thinner crystal. Normally the material that always almost used in transducer is lead zirconate titanate (PZT). PZT represents a piezoelectric ceramics with various extracts. It will change the properties to equal a particular application. In medical, PZT-5 is used because it has the properties of high electromechanical coupling coefficient, high dielectric constant, and ability to be formed in a particular size and shape. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 2.1.1.2 BACKING MATERIAL The functions of backing material will deliver the maximum amount of energy in the form of heat to the patient. This is will give a continuous output of ultrasound waves from the transducer. The other function is to absorb all the energy except for the one cycle of sound. Meaning’s that one that produced from the front face of the transducer. Backing materials should have acoustic impedance so that maximum energy transfer will occur. Besides that, backing material should have a high absorption coefficient. This is to prevent ultrasonic energy from reentering the crystal. In the backing material, they will use an epoxy resin and tungsten powder combination to damp the ultrasonic pulse. Next, the rear surface of the backing materials is slanted to prevent reflection of sound energy into the crystal. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 2.1.1.3 MATCHING LAYER The matching layer is placed in the transducer on the exit side of the crystal. This material with acoustic impedance is placed between the crystal and the patient. The function of the acoustic impedance to produced ultrasonic energy to be largely reflected at this interface. This creates a long pulse and reduces the beam intensity that enters the patient, which is we did not want it in the ultrasound. The reason why we need the matching layer is to shorten the pulse and the improve energy transfer across the crystal-tissue interface. However, the matching layer must have low-loss properties since high attenuation would stabilize the desired effect of high transmission. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 2.2 PULSE GENERATOR The pulse generator produces the electrical pulses. The size of the electrical pulses can be used to change the intensity and energy of the ultrasound beam. (Perry Sprawls n.d.) 2.3 AMPLIFICATION After the echo is received by the transducer, amplification is used to intensification the size of the electrical pulses. Gain setting will controls the amount of amplification. The time gain compensation function is to alter the increase in relationship to the distance of echo sites inside the body. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 2.4 SCAN GENERATOR Controlling the scanning of the ultrasound beam is done by the scan generator. The way is by control the procedure when electrical pulses are functional to the piezoelectric elements in the transducer. (Perry Sprawls n.d.) 2.5 IMAGE PROCESSOR The digital imageis to produce the chosenforms for display. This includes giving it specific contrast characteristics and reformatting the image. (Perry Sprawls n.d.) 2.6 DISPLAY The digital ultrasound images are observed on the monitor and transmitted to work station. The other part of the ultrasound system is the digital storage device. The function is to store images for later viewing.(Perry Sprawls n.d.) 3.0 THE ULTRASOUND PULSE Figure 3 : The production of the ultrasound pulse. (Perry Sprawls n.d.) 4.0 ULTRASOUND CHARACTERISTIC 4.1 FREQUENCY Frequency is the number of wave cycles passing a given point in a given increase of time. The unit is cycles/ second or hertz. Frequency is the inverse of the period. (Hedrick et al. 2005) Figure 4 : The ultrasound pulse frequency. (Perry Sprawls n.d.) 4.2 VELOCITY Velocity is the rate and direction at which sound propagates through a medium. The average velocity of sound in soft tissue is 1540 m/s. (Hedrick et al. 2005) Figure 5 : The ultrasound of velocity. (Perry Sprawls n.d.) 4.3 WAVELENGTH Wavelength is a physical characteristic of a wave that is the distance for one complete wave cycle. (Hedrick et al. 2005) Figure 6 : The wavelength of the ultrasound. (Perry Sprawls n.d.) 4.4 AMPLITUDE Amplitude used to refer to the particle displacement, particle velocity or acoustic pressure of a sound wave. Amplitude also show the strength of the detected echo or the voltage induced in a crystal by a pressure wave. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 5.0 INTENSITY AND POWER Intensity is a physical parameter that describes the amount of energy flowing through a unit cross-sectional area of a beam each second. This is the rate at which the wave transmits the energy over a small area. The unit of intensity is the watt per square centimeter or joule per second per square centimeter. (Hedrick et al. 2005) Power is a measure of the total energy transmitted summed over the entire cross-sectional area of the beam per unit time. The unit of power is the watt. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 5.1 TEMPORAL CHARACTERISTICS As the transducer emits pulses, it causes large instabilities of intensity in the region through which the pulse move. Each pulse consists of multiple cycles that produce intensity variations within the pulse itself-the maximum intensity, designated temporal peak (TP). Pulse average (PA) will controls the intensity averaged over the duration of a single pulse. Temporal average (TA) will controls the intensity averaged over the longer interval of the pulse repetition period. The TA intensity is related to the PA intensity by the duty factor (DF): TA = DFÃâ€"PA or by the pulse duration (PD) and pulse repetition frequency (PRF):TA =PD Ãâ€" PRF Ãâ€" PA.(Hedrick et al. 2005) 5.2 SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS The maximum intensity of all measured values within the sound field is designated as the spatial peak (SP). The designation of spatial peak is not well-defined. In some applications it refers to the maximum intensity in a plane perpendicular to the beam axis at a particular distance from the transducer. The maximum intensity throughout the ultrasonic field which usually occurs along the beam axis. The focusing of the transducer is the most important determinant of spatial peak.(Hedrick et al. 2005) 5.3 TEMPORAL/SPATIAL COMBINATION Spatial averaging over the cross-sectional area of the beam for each temporal intensity is also specified. A cutoff point of 0.25 times the SP intensity has been established to the limit area over which the intensity is averaged. These three combinations are possible to happen are I(SATP)-spatial average, temporal peak intensity, I(SAPA)-spatial average, pulse average intensity and I(SATA)-spatial average, temporal average intensity.(Hedrick et al. 2005) 6.0 INTERACTIONS OF ULTRASOUND Figure 7: The interaction within a body of ultrasound (Perry Sprawls n.d.). 6.1 ABSORPTION AND ATTENUATION Absorption is the procedure whereby energy is placed in a medium by converting ultrasonic energy into other energy forms, primarily heat. It is an exponentially decreasing function and is the major factor in the total attenuation of the beam. (Hedrick et al. 2005) Attenuation is the decrease in intensity as a sound beam travels through the medium. Attenuation depends on all the interactions of ultrasound with tissues which include scattering, divergence, and absorption. (Hedrick et al. 2005) Scattering is the rerouting of sound energy resulting from the sound beam striking an interface whose physical dimension is less than one wavelength. It is also called non specular reflection. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 6.2 REFLECTION Reflection is an interaction that results when the sound being redirected into the medium after striking an acoustic interface. The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. The intensity of the reflected wave is depends on the composition of the interface. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 6.3 REFRACTION Refraction is a process whereby sound enters one medium from another that will result in a bending or deviation of a sound beam from the predictable straight-line path. Refraction obeys Snell’s law, which is based on the ratio of the velocity of the sound in the respective media. Refraction will make artifacts in the image by the misregistration of structures (Hedrick et al. 2005) 7.0 PULSE DIAMETER AND BEAM WIDTH A low-Q transducer has a short pulse length and a broad bandwidth while a high-Q transducer has a long pulse length and narrow bandwidth. The objectives beam width is to transmit a beam that would be directional with a narrow beam width. An echo is created anyway of the lateral position of the object in the ultrasonic field. The lateral dimension of the object in the image is defined as the same size as the beam width. Multiple small objects equidistant from the transducer are not resolved when encompassed by the beam. Focusing reduces the beam width at specific depth to enhance the spatial mapping of received echoes.(Ding et al. 2014) Sampling is restricted laterally by the width of the beam. Objects located outside the beam do not contribute signals. (Small 1971) 7.1 TRANSDUCER FOCUSSING The focusing transducer made-up with an indented active element exhibits much broader bandwidth and higher sensitivity. To fabricate focusing transducers, we can add a lens and shaping the piezoelectric element. Among the focusing transducer designing methods, the shaping element used in transducers was reported to be much effective for fabricating high sensitivity device. Hard pressing and pressure defection techniques are the usual ways to shape transducer elements. For the flexible composite and polymer materials, the focusing transducer can be easily fabricated using those techniques.(Chen et al. 2013) Figure 8: The width and pulse diameter characteristics of both unfocused and focused transducer. (Perry Sprawls n.d.) 7.2 ADJUSTABLE TRANSMIT FOCUS Transmit focusing happen when the depth of the focal zone is altered by varying the delay times between crystal excitations. (Wright 1997)The scanning of the region of interest is conducted with a depth of focus selected by the operator. After review of the real-time image, a new focal zone may be certain to rescan the same area with dissimilar focusing in the scan plane. The beam is focused to a new depth simply by changing the delay times. The transducers that have the capabilities of this focusing are phased linear arrays. (Kossoff Eng 2000)Electronic phasing of the elements allows variable focusing along the scan line which in turn controls beam width in the plane direction. High resolution images with multiple focal zones throughout the images are also possible using this adjustment delay lines. Multi zone transmit focusing reduces the frame rate, because the data must be composed for all the lines of sight across the array with a set focal zone depth before the lines of sight are repetitive with a different focal zone depth. 7.3 DYNAMIC RECEIVE FOCUS Dynamic focusing is in the receive mode. It does will reduce the effective sampling volume.(Kossoff Eng 2000) Dynamic focusing will operate at all depths. The wave front from the object appears to be in phase for all the crystals resulting in a focused beam from the depth of interest. Beam formation is the delay and sum of strategy. The master synchronizer sends timing messages to the receiver-delay lines to indicate the elapsed time from transmission to reception. The elapsed time determines the delay times for each crystal. The depth for receive focus is always known, and thus receive-delay times are constantly changed to yield continually focused beam at all depths. During acquisition of image data the receive times delays are varied dynamically to sweep the focal zone to each point along the scan line. (Hedrick et al. 2005) 8.0 CONCLUSION In ultrasound, high frequencies provide better quality images, but cannot penetrate through skin and organ deeply. Low frequencies can penetrate deeper, but the image quality is poor. Ultrasound is useful to view part inside of the body. They may also be useful in helping the surgeon when carrying out some types of biopsies. Ultrasound is a one of the safe procedure in imaging department.

Hedging Currency Risks at AIFS Essay

The American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) is offering cultural exchange programs for American students and High School pupils throughout the world. Their customers have the possibility to go abroad while the AIFS organises the whole trip for them. Due to their business model the revenues of the company are denominated only in USD, since the offer is for American students who pay in USD. Meanwhile the costs of the company is mostly denominated in foreign currency because AIFS has to pay the transport, the hotel and much more in the countries in which their customers are travelling, hence the firm has to pay in the local currency of these countries. In consequence of the fluctuating exchange rate of USD against foreign currencies and the fact that AIFS fixes the price for their services before the costs can be estimated, the firm faces an inevitable currency exposure. In order to limit or eliminate this risk, AIFS has to hedge their currency exposure. At the moment the company hedges 100% of their exposure using forward contracts and currency options. Now Becky Tabaczynski, CFO of one of the main divisions, is creating a model, including different scenarios, with the goal of identifying which proportion of the exposure should be hedged at all and in which proportion forward contracts and currency options should be used for hedging. Not hedging at all could have disastrous consequences for the whole company because in the case of a weak dollar the costs could rise drastically while the revenues remain fixed. Suppose the company has fixed the prices for the current season and now the costs in Europe are one million euros, while the exchange rate is at 1.20 USD/EUR. This means the firm’s costs are 1.2 million dollar. If the dollar weakens against the euro and the exchange rates rises to 1.32 USD/EUR, costs for AIFS would increase by 10%. Thus costs would increase by The higher the costs turn out, the higher this negative effect would be in nominal amount. The biggest stake of the costs are in euro and pound sterling, hence these two currencies are of major concern. In case of a strong dollar the company would profit the most without hedging but due to the downside trend of the dollar against euro and sterling simultaneously in short and medium term (Exhibit 6 & 7) there is  reasonable evidence that AIFS s hould be prepared to cover their currency exposure. If the company would use 100% forward contracts to hedge their costs, they would fix the costs, no matter what happens to the exchange rates of dollar to foreign currencies. An advantage of this strategy is that AIFS does not have to bear any costs entering the forward contracts, but on the other hand, it will neither make a profit in case the dollar strengthens nor will it suffer a loss in case the dollar weakens. A more flexible but meanwhile more expensive strategy to hedge is only using currency options. That means AIFS would have to pay the option premium in any case but this strategy allows to profit from unlimited favourable movements while limiting losses by the premium. So if the spot rate at expiry is higher than the strike price, AIFS can exercise their option and buy foreign currency for the lower strike price. And if the spot rate at expiry is less than the strike price, AIFS can forget about the option and buy for the lower spot rate. In any case the option premium has to be added to the costs. The possible outcomes in the two described strategies and a scenario with no hedge at all are summarized in the table below. % Cover 100% 100% 0% Contracts 0% 100% – Options 100% 0% – 1.01 -3,725,000 0 -5,250,000 1.22 1,525,000 0 0 1.48 1,525,000 0 6,500,000 The table is based on a sales volume of 25,000 and average cost of â‚ ¬1,000 per participant. That means, with the current spot rate of 1.22 USD/EUR the costs would be $30,500,000 (â‚ ¬25,000,000 * 1.22 USD/EUR). The option premium in this case is 5% of the USD notional value that is hedged and three scenarios are examined: The dollar strengthens (1.01 USD/EUR) The dollar remains stable (1.22 USD/EUR) The dollar weakens (1.48 USD/EUR) In the first column the proportion of the hedged amount is given and in the second and third column of the table the proportions of forward contracts and currency options used to hedge are listed respectively. The fourth fifth  and sixth column show the nominal effect on the costs in each scenario relative to the ‘zero impact’ scenario (exchange rate remains stable at 1.22 USD/EUR) while it is assumed that in each hedging strategy the strike price is the current spot rate of 1.22 USD/EUR. Comparing the results of the table shows the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy. If 100% of the currency exposure is hedged only using options, the costs rise by $1,525,000 (which is exactly the option premium $30,500,000 * 5%) both in the ‘zero impact’ scenario and in the scenario of 1.48 USD/EUR, since in both cases the option will be exercised. In the case of a strong dollar (1.01 USD/EUR) the option will not be exercised since euros can be bought to the lower spot rate but the premium is lost. In total the costs still sink by 3,725,000 because the effect of the lower spot rate compensates the premium. Using only forward contracts to hedge results into no impact on the costs in any case since the exchange rate is fixed no matter what happens and there is no initial cost entering the contract. In case AIFS does not hedge at all, the costs either decrease by $5,250,000 if the exchange rate is 1.01 USD/EUR, or remain unchanged in the ‘zero impact’ scenario or increase by $6,500,000 if the exchange rate is 1.48 USD/EUR. The impact on the cost if nothing is hedged arises merely from the difference in the spot rate and is much stronger than in the hedged case. Since the company is highly affected by news of war, terrorism and political instability, events which are impossible to predict, I would suggest to alter their hedging policy and use mainly options for hedging. In case of such terrible news the forecasted volume of 25 thousand could drop up to 60%. That means in the worst case of a 60% drop, the companies costs decrease by 15 million euros but AIFS would be obliged to buy this amount if they are only hedged with forwards. Options instead would give the company more flexibility, which is a major issue since not only the exchange rates fluctuate but also the volume of participants. In my opinion AIFS should use proportions of 75% options and 25% forward contracts. In this way AIFS would fix the costs for a quarter of their exposure and still be flexible enough to react to different market circumstances and unforeseen events. Moreover AIFS should keep covering 100% of their exposure because they have already experienced a loss of $700,000 in 1995 while they only hedged 80%. In addition the company should continue to deal with 6 different banks to reduce the counterpart risk. In the following table the impact on the costs in different scenarios are summarized using the same methodology as in the table above. In the worst case scenario with 10,000 participants and in the scenario with 30,000 participants the currency exposure decreases to â‚ ¬10 million and increases to â‚ ¬30 million respectively but the impact on the costs using different proportions of forward contracts and options remains the same relatively speaking. Instead of derivatives, an alternative possibility for AIFS to hedge their currency exposure would be to set up accounts abroad in foreign currency up to a certain amount. This would simplify the hedging approach and it would be reasonable the business model of AIFS forces them to keep foreign exchange every year.

Professional Term Paper Help - Overview

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Literature Review on Social Corporate Responsibility

Literature Review: Corporate Social Responsibility According to Douglas and Emily (2011), business environment has changed significantly recently. To survive in this dynamic business environment, businesses have been forced to adapt various strategies, among them being the integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their business models. Bendell (2005) argues that, there is no single definite definition of what CSR is, as various organizations define this concept in different ways. However, most of these definitions are closely related in the sense that they relate CSR with how organizations manage their business process to create a general positive impact on the society. Thus, CSR is universally defined as the ongoing dedication by organizations to act in an ethical manner as well as to contribute to economic development, at the same time enhancing the quality of life of their employees, their families, and the local community and society entirely. From this definition, it is evident that CSR is all about how organiza tions relate to the external and internal environment, in the course of pursuing its business motives. Blowfield (2005) argues that, due to its recent popularity, CSR has attracted research interests lately. Particularly, there is wide literature on CSR in relation to sustainability, profitability, and ethical issues. In relation to profitability, different scholars have given varying views on how CSR affects profitability. For instance, Berkhout (2005), argues that CSR is a crucial element in enhancing profitability, especially in current dynamic business environment. Lately, most companies have embraced CSR in their business model because it is perceived that it is an impetus of increasing profits. According to Bendell (2005), CSR contribute to increasing profits through various ways. For instance, by embracing CSR, an organization earns respect in the marketplace, which is likely to attract higher sales. Specifically, it is easy for an organizations engaging in CSR activities to earn customer loyalty in the market. Campbell (2007) asserts that, through embracing the spirit of CSR, consumers tends to believe that a company has is concerned with their needs, and is ready to modify its business motives to cater for these needs. Consequently, consumers will always identify with the company, consumi ng their products and services from time to time; hence contributing to the company’s profitability. In yet another study, Blowfield (2005) observed that in consumer industries, CSR is linked with better corporate financial performance; however, this is not the case when it comes to industrial industries. In addition to enhancing profitability through improving the image or brand of a company, profits are also enhanced to an organization’s ability to attract qualified personnel through its CSR activities. It has been observed that firms that engage in CSR activities, especially on issues affecting their workforce, have a better chance of attracting more qualified personnel. As Robbins (2011) argued, qualified personnel increase the overall effectiveness and efficiency in a firm’s performance entirely, and this translates to high profitability. Robbins (2011) argues that, CSR also promotes profitability, through its linkage with sustainability. For instance, through focusing on CSR, especially those that are intended to promote sustainability objectives, a firm is likely to reduce costs in addition to enhancing efficiencies. For public companies, CSR creates an opportunity of these companies being included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, or FTSE4Good list. In turn, this is likely to promote the stock price of the companies, making the stock options more profitable for the shareholders. Despite the above arguments on the effectiveness of CSR in enhancing a firm’s profitability, other scholars have given different opinion regarding the issue of how CSR is related to profitability. Perhaps, the economists are the leading grouping with differing opinions. Their argument is based on the core function of a firm, in relation to its shareholders. For instance, Milton Friedman was of the opinion that CSR is a socially desirable undertaking (Hernandez-Murillo and Martinek, 2009). According to Friedman, the major social responsibility of business is profit maximization, which is achieved through undertaking business in an open and free competition without deception or fraud. He further argued that, the executive of the corporate are act as the agents of the owners, and spending resources of firms on CSR activities amounts to spending other people’s resources. Nevertheless, Friedman asserted that firms can be engage in CSR at the same time fulfilling its profit maximization function in different ways. For instance, a firm can either undertake investment projects in the community that are likely to better the quality of potential employees, or contributing to altruistic organizations to benefit from reduction of tax (Hernandez-Murillo and Martinek, 2009). According to Friedman, such actions, in addition to serving the self-interest of the firms, also play a vital role in generating corporate goodwill, which gives a company a competitive advantage over its competitors, in turn presenting an opportunity for the company to further generate economic profits. Various other economists, such as Jose de Jesus Salazar, and Bryan Husted, have given a similar opinion, arguing that there are higher potential benefits to both the society and the firm, if CSR is undertaken strategically; specifically, when the CSR activities of a firm are aligned with the interests of the firm (Hernandez-Murillo and Martinek, 2009). In addition to the studies on the relationship between CSR and profitability, the existing literature also comprise of issues related to CSR and sustainability. Sustainability has various definitions, depending on the perspective of whoever is defining it. However, all definitions tend to be closely related, and they have the following elements: equitable resource and opportunity distribution, understanding the interconnection between the environment, economy, and the society; and living within the limits (Blowfield 2005). Various business scholars have put forth various arguments in explaining the relationship between sustainability and CSR. According to Berkhout (2005), CSR plays a vital role in promoting sustainability. Through embracing the principles of CSR, a firm is conscious on how it utilizes its resources, at the same time reducing negative impacts to not only to the environment, but also the economy and the society as a whole. It is imperative to note that various companies have taken different approaches to sustainability in their CSR models. However, the most common approach is incorporating the principles of CSR and environmental sustainability in their business models. In this case, the companies take into consideration the environmental and social repercussions of their business activities. A vital component in the social responsibility is the ability of communities to decide or influence those decisions that directly or indirectly influence them. Therefore, communities should be able to influence decisions pertaining to the tradeoffs that have effects on them, for instance, between the environmental conservation and economic development and most importantly meeting the requirements of the current generations, and the ability to meet their needs. Local communities have the responsibility to determine the particular elements to sustain, what to expense and how to expense them. Not only because these decisions directly impact on them but because they have crucial roles to play in the processes that aim at enhancing responsibility (Berkhout, 2005). Corporate responsibility depends on the individuals working in the particular companies perceiving and functioning towards the â€Å"business case†. For certain behaviors to pursue social change in the various directions that are demanded by the particular communities where they reside, this case depend on the communities being vigilant and sustaining a major context that propels companies to answer to the community demands. The various implications for social responsibility that may arise in the process may be set in the conclusion. It is important to take note of how the companies are demanded to the local communities and particularly in what circumstances (Blowfield 2005). What is to be considered in responding to the demand of communities to expound; where and when communities considering all the complexities can put leverage on companies so that the corporate respond more to the desires of the people who are directly affected by the actions of those very corporate (Berenb eim 2006). Social responsibility and business ethics are concepts that go hand in hand for all companies that transact business. Business ethics are those moral standards a company applies to make sure that the employees act within the rules and principles of the company while doing the business functions. The marriage of the two are used by large organizations and companies to promote corporate governance, this in turn creates the framework of procedures, policies and the guidelines for the individual stakeholders, that is, those who are employed and even those who have invested in the company (Bendixen Abratt, 2007). Outside stakeholders can also benefit from this governance. Due to the fact that most companies that command huge portions of the economic resources receive scrutiny pertaining to the business ethics, it is important for them to provide some benefit to the locals, and try to win their hearts, and consequently improve the living standards of the people, making sure that they do n o pollute or introduce any pollutant into the environment. However, at times, governments and individuals demand too much from the companies (Berenbeim 2006). It is imperative to think that as much as the companies should not misuse the natural resources, they cannot pay for every single need and wants of the communities, this goes contrary to the ethics and may even result to the companies not producing as much as they are needed to produce. Business ethics is an enabler of social responsibility. Through it, the society or governments are able to decide whether the companies will be able to give back to the communities that they are exploiting. Given the ability to utilize these ethics, it is possible to create a social responsibility, which can transform the leadership, culture and the business ventures so that there are goods for the society (Bendixen Abratt, 2007). From the above review of the existing literature, it is evident that embracing CSR would have significant impacts on Yazoo Milkshakes. To begin with, Yazoo Milkshake is likely to improve, in terms of profitability, in the market as compared to products of companies, which have not incorporated CSR in their business model. In addition, CSR is likely to enhance sustainability in Yazoo Milkshake products, further promoting the brand of the same in the market. Besides, CSR would enhance implementation of ethical policies within the company and in relation with its environment, both internal and external. Reference List Bendell, J., 2005., In whose Name? The Accountability of Corporate Social Responsibility. Development in Practice, Vol. 15, No.4, 362-374 Bendixen, M., Abratt, R., 2007., Corporate identity, ethics and reputation in supplier-buyer relationships. Journal of Business Ethics, 76, 69–82 Berenbeim, R. E., 2006., Business ethics and corporate social responsibility: Defining an organization’s ethics brand. Vital Speeches of the Day, 72, 501–503 Berkhout, T., 2005., Corporate gains: Corporate social responsibility can be the strategic engine for long-term corporate profits and responsible social development. Alternatives Journal, 31(1), 15–18. Blowfield, M., 2005., Corporate social responsibility: Reinventing the mean ­ing of development. International Affairs, 81, 515–524 Campbell, J. L., 2007., Why would corporations behave in socially respon ­sible ways? An Institutional Theory Of Corporate Social Responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 32, 946–967. Douglas, R. and Emily, S.T., 2011., The Purpose Agenda, Business Strategy Review Vol. 22 Issue 3. Hernandez-Murillo, R. and Martinek, C.J., 2009., Corporate Social Responsibility can be profitable. The Regional Economist. Retrieved from http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional/09/04/socialresponsibility.pdf Robbins, R., 2011., Does Corporate Social Responsibility Increase Profits. 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