Avoid These 5 Mistakes When NetworkingÂÂ

Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Networking   We all know how daunting networking can be. It’s often the last thing we want to do: going out to â€Å"socialize† when we could be on the couch with take-out and Netflix, having to sell ourselves in every conversation, having to get in front of the right people to make the right impression. But, it has to be done. And it should be done right. Here are 5 common networking pitfalls and how to avoid them.1. Don’t get caught with your pants downEven if you make a last-minute decision to attend, make sure you’re prepared. Don’t forget your business cards. Don’t go up to anyone uninformed. Spend 15 minutes before you hit the party making a game plan- who you’d like to introduce yourself to, what specifically you’d like to accomplish, etc. Do some research into the people and companies you’re likely to run into; this will make for better conversations and you’ll come across as intelligent and on top of your game. Pick yo ur marks and take accurate, appropriate shots.2. Don’t be unprofessionalYou don’t need to  make a special hair appointment or show up in a cocktail dress to a casual after-work event, but you also shouldn’t dress like a slob. Go no lower than business casual, and when in doubt, take your cues from coworkers or other contacts you know are also attending.Once you’re there, act like a professional human. Don’t dismiss people just because they don’t look important. Don’t go around collecting business cards as if you were trick-or-treating. Don’t lie- you’ll always get caught. And make sure to have your elevator pitch practiced and ready to go. There’s nothing worse than being asked what you’re looking for and having to reply â€Å"Uh†¦. Um†¦. Work and stuff?†3. Don’t be naà ¯veAct like you’ve been to a networking event before. Don’t expect a job from every decision-maker you happen to shake hands with. And make sure not to ask for too much from everyone you meet. This is where a little strategic planning can really come in handy. Plan your big asks before you go. Once you’ve made them, try to  relax, act normally, and enjoy yourself. People are just people, after all.4. Don’t be selfishNobody likes a party hog. Don’t be the kind of networker who talks only about herself, thinks only about her needs, barges into conversations uninvited, and otherwise monopolizes everything and everyone. That goes for the shrimp puffs, too.5. Don’t forget to follow upThis is perhaps the most important. If you’ve made good contact with anyone, make sure to send a polite follow-up email the following day. Or even a phone call, depending on your level of connection! And if anyone does you any favors- i.e. puts you in touch with someone or agrees to circulate your resume- make sure to send a gracious thank you ASAP.

Anne Hutchinson, Early American Religious Dissident

Anne Hutchinson, Early American Religious Dissident Anne Hutchinson was a leader in religious dissent in the Massachusetts colony, nearly causing a major schism in the colony before she was expelled. Shes considered a major figure in the history of religious freedom in America. Dates: baptized July 20, 1591 (birth date unknown); died in August or September of 1643 Biography Anne Hutchinson was born Anne Marbury in Alford, Lincolnshire. Her father, Francis Marbury, was a clergyman from the gentry and was Cambridge-educated. He went to prison three times for his views and lost his office for advocating, among other views, that the clergy be better educated. Her father was called by the Bishop of London, at one time, an ass, an idiot and a fool. Her mother, Bridget Dryden, was Marburys second wife. Bridgets father, John Dryden, was a friend of the humanist Erasmus and an ancestor of the poet John Dryden. When Francis Marbury died in 1611, Anne continued to live with her mother until she married William Hutchinson the next year. Religious Influences Lincolnshire had a tradition of women preachers, and theres some indication that Anne Hutchinson knew of the tradition, though not the specific women involved. Anne and William Hutchinson, with their growing family eventually, fifteen children several times a year made the 25-mile journey to attend the church served by the minister John Cotton, a Puritan. Anne Hutchinson came to consider John Cotton her spiritual mentor. She may have begun holding womens prayer meetings at her home during these years in England. Another mentor was John Wheelwright, a clergyman in Bilsby, near Alford, after 1623. Wheelwright in 1630 married William Hutchinsons sister, Mary, bringing him even closer to the Hutchinson family. Emigration to Massachusetts Bay In 1633, Cottons preaching was banned by the Established Church and he emigrated to Americas Massachusetts Bay. The Hutchinsons oldest son, Edward, was part of Cottons initial emigrant group. That same year, Wheelwright was also banned. Anne Hutchinson wanted to go to Massachusetts, too, but pregnancy kept her from sailing in 1633. Instead, she and her husband and their other children left England for Massachusetts the next year. Suspicions Begin On the journey to America, Anne Hutchinson raised some suspicions about her religious ideas. The family spent several weeks with a minister in England, William Bartholomew, while waiting for their ship, and Anne Hutchinson shocked him with her claims of direct divine revelations. She claimed direct revelations again on board the Griffin, in talking to another minister, Zachariah Symmes. Symmes and Bartholomew reported their concerns upon their arrival in Boston in September. The Hutchinsons tried to join Cottons congregation on arrival and, while William Hutchinsons membership was approved quickly, the church examined the views of Anne Hutchinson before they admitted her to membership. Challenging Authority Highly intelligent, well-studied in the Bible from the education provided her with her fathers mentorship and her own years of self-study, skilled in midwifery and medicinal herbs, and married to a successful merchant, Anne Hutchinson quickly became a leading member of the community. She began leading weekly discussion meetings. At first these explained Cottons sermons to the participants. Eventually, Anne Hutchinson began reinterpreting the ideas preached in the church. Anne Hutchinsons ideas were rooted in what was called by opponents Antinomianism (literally: anti-law). This system of thought challenged the doctrine of salvation by works, emphasizing the direct experience of a relationship with God, and focusing on salvation by grace. The doctrine, by relying on individual inspiration, tended to elevate the Holy Spirit above the Bible, and also challenged the authority of the clergy and of church (and government) laws over the individual. Her ideas were counterposed to the more orthodox emphasis on a balance of grace and works for salvation (Hutchinsons party thought they overemphasized works and accused them of Legalism) and ideas about clergy and church authority. Anne Hutchinsons weekly meetings turned to twice a week, and soon fifty to eighty people were attending, both men and women. Henry Vane, the colonial governor, supported Anne Hutchinsons views, and he was a regular at her meetings, as were many in the colonys leadership. Hutchinson still saw John Cotton as a supporter, as well as her brother-in-law John Wheelwright, but had few others among the clergy. Roger Williams had been banished to Rhode Island in 1635 for his non-orthodox views. Anne Hutchinsons views, and their popularity, caused more of a religious rift. The challenge to authority was especially feared by the civil authorities and clergy when some adherents to Hutchinsons views refused to take up arms in the militia which was opposing the Pequots, with whom the colonists were in conflict in 1637. Religious Conflict and Confrontation In March of 1637, an attempt to bring the parties together was held, and Wheelwright was to preach a unifying sermon. However, he took the occasion to be confrontational and was found guilty of sedition and contempt in a trial before the General Court. In May, elections were moved so that fewer of the men in Anne Hutchinsons party voted, and Henry Vane lost the election to deputy governor and Hutchinson opponent John Winthrop. Another supporter of the orthodox faction, Thomas Dudley, was elected deputy governor. Henry Vane returned to England in August. That same month, a synod was held in Massachusetts which identified the views held by Hutchinson as heretical. In November 1637, Anne Hutchinson was tried before the General Court on charges of heresy and sedition. The outcome of the trial was not in doubt: the prosecutors were also the judges since her supporters had, by that time, been excluded (for their own theological dissent) from the General Court. The views she held had been declared heretical at the August synod, so the outcome was predetermined. After the trial, she was put into the custody of Roxburys marshal, Joseph Weld. She was brought to Cottons home in Boston several times so that he and another minister could convince her of the error of her views. She recanted publicly but soon admitted that she still held her views. Excommunication In 1638, now accused of lying in her recantation, Anne Hutchinson was excommunicated by the Boston Church and moved with her family to Rhode Island to land purchased from the Narragansetts. They were invited by Roger Williams, who had founded the new colony as a democratic community with no enforced church doctrine. Among Anne Hutchinsons friends who also moved to Rhode Island was Mary Dyer. In Rhode Island, William Hutchinson died in 1642. Anne Hutchinson, with her six youngest children, moved first to Long Island Sound and then to the New York (New Netherland) mainland. Death There, in 1643, in August or September, Anne Hutchinson and all but one member of her household were killed by Native Americans in a local uprising against the taking of their lands by the British colonists. Anne Hutchinsons youngest daughter, Susanna, born in 1633, was taken captive in that incident, and the Dutch ransomed her. Some of the Hutchinsons enemies among the Massachusetts clergy thought that her end was divine judgment against her theological ideas. In 1644, Thomas Weld, on hearing of the death of the Hutchinsons, declared Thus the Lord heard our groans to heaven and freed us from this great and sore affliction. Descendants In 1651 Susanna married John Cole in Boston. Another daughter of Anne and William Hutchinson, Faith, married Thomas Savage, who commanded the Massachusetts forces in King Philips War, a conflict between Native Americans and the English colonists. Controversy: History Standards In 2009, a controversy over history standards established by the Texas Board of Education involved three social conservatives as reviewers of the K-12 curriculum, including adding more references to the role of religion in history.   One of their proposals was to remove references to Anne Hutchinson who taught religious views that different from the officially sanctioned religious beliefs. Selected Quotations As I do understand it, laws, commands, rules and edicts are for those who have not the light which makes plain the pathway. He who has Gods grace in his heart cannot go astray. The power of the Holy Spirit dwelleth perfectly in every believer, and the inward revelations of her own spirit, and the conscious judgment of her own mind are of authority paramount to any word of God. I conceive there lies a clear rule in Titus that the elder women should instruct the younger and then I must have a time wherein I must do it. If any come to my house to be instructed in the ways of God what rule have I to put them away? Do you think  it not lawful for me to teach women and why do you call me to teach the court? When I first came to this land because I did not go to such meetings as those were, it was presently reported that I did not allow of such meetings but held them unlawful and therefore in that regard they said I was proud and did despise all ordinances. Upon that a friend came unto me and told me of it and I to prevent such aspersions took it up, but it was in practice before I came. Therefore I was not the first. I am called here to answer before you, but I hear no things laid to my charge. I desire to know wherefore I am banished? Will it please you to answer me this and to give me a rule for then I will willingly submit to any truth. I do here speak it before the court. I look that the Lord should deliver me by his providence. If you please to give me leave I shall give you the ground of what I know to be true. The Lord judges not as man judges. Better to be cast out of the church than to deny Christ. A Christian is not bound to the law. But now having seen him which is invisible I fear not what man can do unto me. What from the Church at Boston? I know no such church, neither will I own it. Call it the whore and strumpet of Boston, no Church of Christ! You have power over my body but the Lord Jesus hath power over my body and soul; and assure yourselves thus much, you do as much as in you lies to put the Lord Jesus Christ from you, and if you go on in this course you begin, you will bring a curse upon you and your posterity, and the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. He that denies the testament denies the testator, and in this did open unto me and give me to see that those which did not teach the new covenant had the spirit of antichrist, and upon this he did discover the ministry unto me; and ever since, I bless the Lord, he hath let me see which was the clear ministry and which the wrong. For you see this scripture fulfilled this day and therefore I desire you as you tender the Lord and the church and commonwealth to consider and look what you do. But after he was pleased to reveal himself to me I did presently, like Abraham, run to Hagar. And after that he did let me see the atheism of my own heart, for which I begged of the Lord that it might not remain in my heart. I have been guilty of wrong thinking. They thought that I did conceive there was a difference between them and Mr. Cotton... I might say they might preach a covenant of works as did the apostles, but to preach a covenant of works and to be under a covenant of works is another business. One may preach a covenant of grace more clearly than another... But when they preach a covenant of works for salvation, that is not truth. I pray, Sir, prove it that I said they preached nothing but a covenant of works.   Thomas Weld, on hearing of the death of the Hutchinsons: Thus the Lord heard our groans to heaven and freed us from this great and sore affliction.   From the sentence at her trial read by Governor Winthrop: Mrs. Hutchinson, the sentence of the court you hear is that you are banished from out of our jurisdiction as being a woman not fit for our society. Background, Family Father: Francis Marbury, a clergyman in the Church of EnglandMother: Bridget DrydenHusband: William Hutchinson (married 1612; well-to-do cloth merchant)Children: 15 in 23 years Also known as Anne Marbury, Anne Marbury Hutchinson Bibliography Helen Auger. An American Jezebel: The Life of Anne Hutchinson. 1930.Emery John Battis. Saints and Sectaries: Anne Hutchinson and the Antinomian Controversy in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1962.Thomas J. Bremer, editor. Anne Hutchinson: Troubler of the Puritan Zion. 1981.Edith R. Curtis. Anne Hutchinson. 1930.David D. Hall, editor. The Antinomian Controversy, 1636-1638. 1990, second edition. (Includes records from Hutchinsons trial.)Winifred King Rugg. Unafraid: A Life of Anne Hutchinson. 1930.N. Shore. Anne Hutchinson. 1988.William H. Whitmore and William S. Appleton, editors. Hutchinson Papers. 1865.Selma R. Williams. Divine Rebel: The Life of Anne Marbury Hutchinson. 1981.

Process Description Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Process Description Assignment - Essay Example Yoghurt is prepared from milk received by the company at the plant from our diverse supply pool form all over the country. Processing is carried out by the company’s specially trained process attendants and technicians. Hygiene and sterility of the plant are a necessity, which compels the company to use exceptionally high standards. Technology and microbiological aspects of the plant are contained in the laboratory manuals, which will be availed at request to any officer. Reception: the road tanker collecting milk from the farms is usually dispatched with a team of mobile lab technicians. Milk is assessed at the collection units for quality, to ensure that no additives have been introduced in to the milk. The collected milk is treated with preservatives of the recommended type and accurate quantity. Storage: at the plant, the milk is deposited into a storage tank with controlled temperature and sterility. Sterility is ensured by killing harmful micro-organisms that tamper with yoghurt quality using antimicrobial (microorganism killer) agents. Secondly, milk is introduced into the pasteurizing vat (chamber using steam and high pressure to cook milk) and fermented after cooling. Fermentation is done by introduction of specific types of yoghurt fermenting bacteria species (Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii) (Tamine, 224). The pasteurized and fermented milk is then introduced into the mixing chamber where standardization processes are carried out to ensure that the desired quality of the milk is achieved. The various types of standardization procedures involved are: Fat content: milk butter content is usually between 3.7 and 4.2 grams in every 100g of milk. This is lowered to yoghurt standards (1.5g/100g for medium fat and 0.5g/100g for low fat yoghurt). This is achieved by Solids-not-fat content in milk are other solids suspended in milk but not fat in nature. 8.2 to 8.6 g/100g is the

An Assessment of British Airways Dispute and its Employee Relations Essay

An Assessment of British Airways Dispute and its Employee Relations - Essay Example British Airways concentrates mainly on its management approach which is considered to be inward-looking. Moreover, the company also focuses on the retention of its different routes and the outcome has been unsatisfied customers. Under the management of Bob Ayling's, British Airways faced industrial action, the employees were protesting against cost reduction which was aimed at improving the airline’s profitability. Subsequent to the earlier strikes and the cost reduction plan, the morale of workforce deteriorated resulting in continued unrest since then. In 2005, the union members protested against the decision to leave out a group of workers, replacing them with the agency staff when the company failed to renew their contract. The company incurred a lot of costs due to this and several passengers were disrupted. In October 2006, the company faced dispute which resulted from a check-in Christian worker putting on his faith’s visible symbol. In 2007, the cabin crew plann ed a strike action, they were protesting against the salary changes. Later it was withdrawn before it took off. According to Books Llc, (2010), British airways and the union Unite relations have continued to be turbulent, especially in 2009 and 2010. It manly resulted from the proposed changes of the cabin crew working conditions as the company was facing the global financial crisis. On December2009, a strike ballot was conducted regarding the working practices changes. It was supported by many especially the Christmas 2009, planned action. However, the industrial action was declared illegal by the court. On February, a re-ballot was held. The negotiations that were ongoing did not stop the strike action which took place in March. The company punished the staff involved through the withdrawal of the travel perks. Today the company is still faced by different challenges and has been trying to find a lasting solution to this. Competitive nature of the business and the rationale behind management proposals British airways is ranked as the ninth airline worldwide with regard to the total number of passengers it can carries. The airline network in the international market is considered to be the strongest. This is because as compared to other airlines, it operates in several destinations internationally. British airways has its base at London Heathrow which is the best location. This location is known to be central to the European air travel and is the leading business hub. The airline connections to various destinations globally are convenient and timely and this is the company’s main advantage of being situated at London Heathrow. Some of the company’s operations which are short haul have been moved to London Gatwick. This came up as a result of the increasing air traffic in Heathrow. In both the international and the domestic market, the company is faced with competition. The company’s main competitors in the domestic markets include airline s like Easy Jet which incur lower costs. In the international level, it has to face several giants which include Lufthansa and American Airlines. British airways main business in both the international and the domestic routes is to provide air services that are scheduled to passengers and cargo. The scheduled passenger service and cargo service of the company are separate divisions that operate in an independent way. The scheduled passenger services contribute a greater percentage to the company’

Director Network Influence on Stock Price Cash Risks

Director Network Influence on Stock Price Cash Risks Introduction A sprouting issue in corporate governance and the business world is the concept of executive network. Recent accounting and finance literature use social network theory to explain various corporate behaviors and practices steaming from information, resources exchange and relationship building. The correlation between executive network and earnings management (Omer et al, 2016; Chui, et al 2012), director network and tax management (Brown Drake, 2013), and director network and corporate investment decisions (Singh Schonlau, 2009), among other corporate practices have been capaciously researched but stock price crash risk has been overlooked in the area of social networks. Firms have congruent behavior patterns as a result of the information exchange among them. The observed herding behavior of firms can be explained by social network theory which predicts firms to imitate others especially those perceived to possess superior information (Lieberman Asaba, 2006). Corporate executives have incentives to manipulate the financial performance by withholding bad news (with the believe that such bad news can be over turned in the future) and accelerating the disclosure of good news (as this signifies competency). As directors imitate each other, such behavior can easily diffuse among them. The effect of director networks on firms performance disclosures is multifaced. Prior director network literature document that through information exchange, directors learn from their peers on how to better perform their monitoring and advising roles to maximize shareholder value (Chuluun et al., 2014; Larcker et al., 2013). Directors can enhance their monitoring expertis e by linking up with other directors who are more experienced and connected to other experienced directors. Through the positive learning hypothesis, directors become better monitors of managers of their firms. My conjecture here is that directors can improve their individual expertise and efficiency by obtaining more quality information from other directors. As a two-edged sword, director networks can also be a vehicle for the diffusion of bad corporate practices. Social interactions can act as dais through which information about undesirable corporate practices are exchanged. According to Davis (1991), the diffusion of poison pills adopted among US firms in the late 1980s were engineered through the network directors built. Also, options expending and backdating were documented to relate to networked firms (Reppenhagen 2010, Bizjak et al., 2009). The propensity to replicate bad act when those engaged in the act go scot-free after a long time (Marvin Shigeru, 2006). By the negative learning hypothesis, directors carry information about such bad corporate practices to their firms. This can mitigate against the monitory role of directors hence adversely affect their performance. I assume that directors take the final responsibility for various corporate practices including financial report transparency and disclosures. This proposed study seeks to employ social network and business imitation theory to examine stock price crash, which usually result from hoarding bad news from the stock market. Prior literature argue that managers hoard bad news either to achieve personal goals such as higher compensation, job security and empire building or presumptuously to maximize long-term shareholders value (Ball, 2009; Kothari et al., 2009; Graham et al, 2005). Whatever the goal, whether to achieve personal agenda or to promote shareholder value, bad news hoarded and accumulated for long result in stock price crash. (Hutton et al.,2009; Jin and Myers, 2006). Several papers, summarized below, have explored the connection between crash risk and various firm level characteristics. However, studies that directly investigate stock price risk through executive personal characteristics have concentrated mostly on managers personal attributes such as CEO over confidence but the social structure within which the phenomenon is practiced has largely been ignored. My proposed study seek to examine the empirical link between the relationships directors build and the distribution of stock returns. My study will contribute to the literature in several ways. First, to my knowledge, this will be the first study to examine the relation between director network and stock crash risk. By focusing on a unique perspective, this study will provide new evidence concerning the economic consequences of social imitations. In particular, the findings will identify significant benefits that social interactions bring to firms and their shareholders. Xing, Zhang, and Zhao (2010) and Yan (2011) suggest that extreme outcomes in the equity market are of extreme concerns to shareholders and will require interpretations. Thus, the empirical evidence will be useful for understanding the role that director network plays in influencing both corporate behavior and investor welfare. Second, this will extend the literature on corporate governance by showing the relation between social connectivity and stock price crash risk relative to the strength of corporate governance mechanisms in place in a firm. Th is will provide more explanation on the conventional governance mechanisms in monitoring the flow of corporate information to the equity market. Third, this study will add to the research on bad news hoarding theory of stock price crash risk. In particular, the implication of social interactions for future crash risk will provide valuable insights into the behavioral-sociological nature of managerial manipulation of information. Recent studies on crash risk suggest that managerial bad news hoarding activities can be explain via religion (Jeffrey L. Callen and Xiaohua Fang, 2015), corporate social responsibility (Yongtae Kim, 2014), CEOs over confidence (Jeong-Bon Kim, 2014), CFOs equity incentives (Jeong-Bon Kim, 2011) accounting conservatism (Kim et al, 2010), tax avoidance (Kim et al, 2010), and corporate financial opacity (Hutton et al, 2009). However, it is not clear what role executive social connections and/or social norms play in influencing the behavior to conceal bad news. My study will help to fill this gap in the literature by providing evidence on the relation between director network and crash risk and the consequential role that social connections play on managerial bad news hoarding activities. Last, but not the least, this study will provide investors with priceless information on how the social business environment affects firm behavior, which may help them to predict and eschew future stock price crash in their portfolio investment decisions. Research objective The objective of this study is to find out how stock price crash is influence by the social set up directors build. Specific research questions are; Can stock price crash risk be explained through director network? Does the level of stock price crash risk increase with the degree of executive connectedness? How much dissidence of stock price crash is attributable to director network? Research design The variables for this study-director connectedness and stock price crash risk will be independently estimated using Riskmetrics, CRSP and COMPUSTAT data. The Riskmetrics will be used in computing the measures of directors network. Data on the stock return for the calculating crash risk will be obtained from CRSP while compustat will provide the relevant company financials for my research. My sample size will cover the period of 1990-2014. The result of the first stage estimation will be put into a cross-sectional regression model for further estimation of the relationship between firm networks and stock price crash risk. I will use UCINET/PAJEK to estimate various dimensions of director networks (Omer et al., 2014). Crash risk will be estimated using (Chen et al .2001), Jin and Myers (2006) and Hutton et al (2009) models which provides three measures of crash risk including i) the negative coefficient of skewness of firms specific daily returns, ii) the down-to-up volatility of firm -specific daily returns, and iii) the difference between the number of days with negative extreme firm-specific daily returns and the number of days with positive extreme firm-specific daily returns. The primary model for the regression will be; CrashRiskj =ÃŽÂ ±+ÃŽÂ ²1 DirectorNetworkj + ÃŽÂ ²2Controlvariables + ÃŽÂ µi Where CrashRiskj and DirectorNetworkj refer to the various measurements of crash risks and director networks of firm J respectively. Literature review Former Chairman of the Board of General Motors John G. Smale wrote in 1995: The board is responsible for the successful perpetuation of the corporation. That responsibility cannot be relegated to management. A board of directors is expected to play a key role in corporate governance. The board has responsibility for: CEO selection and succession; providing feedback to management on the organizations strategy; compensating senior executives; monitoring financial health, performance and risk; and ensuring accountability of the organization to its investors and authorities. The board thus play important role in corporate governance hence the need to study the board in broader perspective including their social networks. This is because through network, knowledge, ideas and corporate practices whether good or bad are shared between companies. Director network thus serves vehicle for the spread of behavior between related firms. (Asch 1951; Milgram 1963, Hirshleifer and Teoh (2003, 2009) Director networks Social network theory suggests that individuals behavior is the product of their social interactions and this connection extends to corporate behavior (Jackson, 2008; Newman, 2010). Individuals and their links form a network across which they share ideas and resources, which influences their decision. Under opacity, observe behaviors of others, can provide useful insights (Marvin Shigeru, 2006). Social networks serve as channel for the transmission of information about corporate practices climaxing into herding behavior (Bikhchandani, Hirshleifer, Welch, 1998; Hirshleifer Hong Teoh, 2003). The link can either be direct such as shared directorates, trade partnership or indirect such as friend of friend of friend. Newman (2010) provides evidence on the relevance on the indirect link in the information sharing process. A director with many connections become an information hub making him very powerful in the chain of network. This is described as centrality in the n etwork literature (Jackson, 2008). A direct link to an information hub increases access to more complete information. Also, connection to a direct link to the information hub can acquire some information, though the closer the better. This had led to four measurements of director network namely degree, eigenvector, betweenness and closeness centralities. Degree centrality is the absolute measure of individual social connections and boast of more information. The indirect connection where ideas exchange is from several other links is known as eigenvector centrality. Betweenness centrality relates to information control within the web. In a network, an individual positioned between two others serving as the medium of information exchange between them is viewed as one controlling information flow. The last dimension of network which relates to the proximity to information access to enhance optimization is the closeness centrality. Closeness centrality measures how quick information fr om other members of a network gets to an individual. The closer an individual is to a source of information, the more efficient and easier it is to access information (Jackson, 2008; Newman, 2010). The kind of information received will be parallel to the actions of the individual. I therefore, hypothesize that, firms within the same network will have homogeneous behavior. Director networks and stock price crash risk Financial reports provide information about a firms economic performance. Accounting numbers are crucial for economic decisions of a firms stakeholders but their relevance can only be harness when provided at the right time. Corporate executives naturally exhibit some resistance in disclosing bad performances of their firms and this behavior catalyst to stock price crashes (Hutton et al., 2009; Jin and Myers, 2006). Managers have been reported to have hoard information to opportunistically influence contractual outcomes (Cheng, Man, Yi, 2013, Healy Wahlen, 1999; Verrecchia, 1983). Extant literature documents the motives for information hoarding such as personal gain and career concern. (Kothari et al. 2009). In addition, Ball (2001, 2009) argues that nonfinancial motives, such as empire building and maintaining the esteem of ones peers, also provide powerful incentives for managers to conceal bad performance. Empirically, Kothari et al. (2009) find evidence consistent with the tendency of managers to hoard bad news. The managerial tendency to withhold bad news leads to bad news being stockpiled within the firm. However, there is a certain point at which it becomes too costly or impossible for managers to withhold the bad news (Kothari et al., 2009). When such a tipping point arrives, all the hitherto hidden bad news will come out at once, resulting in a large negative price adjustment, that is, a crash (Hutton et al., 2009; Jin and Myers, 2006). Moreover, Bleck and Liu (2007) argue that the withholding of bad news prevents investors from discerning bad projects from good ones and, therefore, from liquidating bad projects promptly. Thus, bad projects are kept alive and the resulting negative cash flows eventually materialize, triggering asset price crashes. Employing country- and firm-level designs, respectively, Jin and Myers (2006) and Hutton et al. (2009) provide empirical evidence consistent with the above mecha nisms of stock price crashes. Several papers support the linkage of director network to various corporate behaviors such as expending stock option, (Reppenhagen 2010), private equity incentives (Stuart and Yim 2010) stock option backdating (Bizjak et al. 2009) and poison-pill adoption (Davis 1991). Others include director network and mutual fund performance (Cohen, Frazzini, and Malloy, 2008; Kuhnen, 2008), venture capital investments (Hochberg, Ljungqvist, and Lu, 2007), executive compensation (Barnea and Guedj, 2009), and firm governance (Fracassi and Tate, 2008; Hwang and Kim, 2008). They provide empirical evidence on the transfer of behavior between related firms. Building on the literature on social network and the literature on crash risk, I propose that director network can affect firm-level stock price crash risk. Since director network can pass good or bad business practices, it can mitigate or contribute to crash risk, however, the quantum ultimately is an empirical question. The empirical analysis will shed light on this important issue. References Ashbaugh, Hollis, Joachim Gassen, and Ryan Lafond, 2005, Does Stock Price Synchronicity Reflect Information or Noise? The International Evidence, mimeo Barnea, A., Guedj, I., 2009. Director networks. Unpublished working paper. University of Texas, Austin. Brown, J. L., Drake, K. D. (2013). Network ties among low-tax firms. The Accounting Review Chen, J., Hong, H., Stein, J., 2001. Forecasting crashes: Trading volume, past returns, and conditional skewness in stock prices. Journal of Financial Economics Chiu, P.-C., Teoh, S. H., Tian, F. (2012). Board interlocks and earnings management contagion. The Accounting Review Hutton, A.P., Marcus, A.J., Tehranian, H., 2009. Opaque financial reports, R2, and crash risk. Journal of Financial Economics Kim, J.B., Li, Y., Zhang, L., 2011b. CFO vs. CEO: equity incentives and crashes. Journal of Financial Economics Kim, J.B., Zhang, L., 2013. Accounting conservatism and stock price crash risk: firmlevel evidence. Contemporary Accounting Research, forthcoming Kim, J.B., Li, Y., Zhang, L., 2011a. Corporate tax avoidance and stock price crash risk: firm-level analysis. Journal of Financial Economics Kim J-B, Li Y, Zhang L. 2011b. Corporate tax avoidance and stock price crash risk: Firm-level analysis. Journal of Financial Economics Kothari SP, Shu S, Wysocki PD. 2009. Do Managers Withhold Bad News? Journal of Accounting Research Lieberman, M. B., Asaba, S. (2006). Why Do Firms Imitate Each Other? The Academy of Management Review Malmendier U, Tate G. 2005. CEO Overconfidence and Corporate Investment. The Journal of Finance Newman, M. (2010). Networks: an introduction: Oxford University Press Omer, T. C., Shelley, M. K., Tice, F. M. (2014). Do director networks matter for financial reporting quality? Evidence from restatements. Singh, P. V., Schonlau, R. J. (2009). Board Networks and Merger Performance.

This paper will address language barriers in customer service

This paper will address language barriers in customer service. This has demanded business to acknowledge their existence by having to set up bilingual websites, employing bilingual representatives as well as hiring third party language lines. Identifying language barriers With the development of global communication, language issues have entered the area of seller/ customer relations, causing serious barriers on the way towards effective servicing customers with different language backgrounds. ‘The diversity of today's customers offers many challenges to the human resources professional in a multi-ethnic company or institution.' (Morris, 2002, p. 32) Language barriers in the workplace relate to the two different spheres of company's performance: one sphere is represented by communication between employees, while another sphere is represented by customer service employees and the need to communicate with foreign-speaking customers. Allison (1999) wrote, that oral communication with customers for whom English is not the native language, frequently becomes a serious barrier towards effective customer service provision. (p. 26) As long as language problems within the company are underestimated, it is difficult to predict stable progressive development of the company's performance. This challenge becomes even more serious when native languages and origins of the customer and the customer service employee differ dramatically (e.g. English-Chinese). In this situation creation of the bilingual websites to deliver the necessary information to the customers has become one of the best resolutions of the discussed issue. In order to perform efficiently, companies have to attract language specialists for the proper organizing the customer servicing of foreign-language customers. Similar issues can be identified within the framework of manager/ supervisor cooperation. The inability to deliver company's mission and customer service requirements to the worker, who speaks a different language, will make it difficult to incorporate this worker (her) into the company's organizational structure. As a consequence, the quality of service provided may decrease. (Weinstock, 2003, p. 99) Simultaneously, the proper utilization of foreign-language workers for communication with foreign customers will lead to higher quality of company’s customer service. Language issues in customer service are even more serious for the company's corporate image and company’s performance on the market. The quality level of customer service is frequently included into the list of factors, on the basis of which customers make their choice towards a specific product or company. Thus, inability to overcome language barriers with customers may serve against the company's striving to occupy stable market position. (Jacobs, 2004, p. 150) The causes of language barriers Many highly-skilled and valuable employees have difficulty with the pronunciation challenges that American English puts before them. Many sounds in our language do not exist in their native languages, resulting in pronunciations that are unintelligible to the average listener'. (Ferris & Frink, 2003, p. 228) Physical articulation of English sounds by foreign language speakers is not the only cause of language barriers in customer service. This list can be supplemented by the cultural problems closely connected with language, as well as the inability of the company's management to supply employees with effective solutions of language issues. (Ferris & Frink, 2003, p. 229) Recommendations Among the basic recommendations for the language problems' solution the following guidelines can be applied: – Â   Â  providing the customer service staff with opportunities to educate and broaden language skills; – Â   Â  utilizing foreign employees in the striving towards better customer service functioning, as well as including professional interpreters into the company's staff. (Varner & Beamer, 2005, p. 84) It is also essential, that company and product information is provided in several different languages to attract and retain customers with various origins and language backgrounds. Including multilingual approaches into numerous aspects of the company’s activity will only work for the benefit of the company’s customers, and as a result, for the benefit of the company’s performance. Conclusion Language barriers in the customer service may seem irrelevant in the light of other global problems, which companies have to solve daily. However, such language problems are much broader than it is traditionally assumed – improper customer servicing is a direct way towards worsening company’s image and decreasing company’s revenues. This is why in order to avoid far-reaching negative consequences language barriers should be timely and properly addressed. References Allison, M. (1999). Organizational barriers to diversity in the workplace. Journal of Leisure Research, 31, 26-32. Ferris, G. & Frink, D. (2003). Diversity in the workplace: The human resources management challenges. Human Resource Planning, 16, 214-242. Jacobs, E. (2004). Overcoming language barriers: Costs and benefits of interpreter services. Human Resource Planning, 17 (5), 149-151. Morris, C. (2002). Cultural and language barriers in the workplace. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Workforce Development. Varner, I. & Beamer, L. (2005). Intercultural communication in global workplace. Boston: Irwin/ McGraw-Hill. Weinstock, B. (2003). Bringing language and culture gaps in the workplace. Washington: Washington Business Group on Health.

In the Novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Victor...

In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein is the true monster, not the creature himself. Victor Frankenstein grew up in Geneva. He had a strong interest in reading the works of the ancient and outdated alchemists, and was fascinated by science and the secret of life. One day he decided that he wanted to study further, so Victor actually created a person of his own out of old body parts and strange chemicals. When the creature came to life, he was a hideously ugly beast. The creature does have beauteous features such as lustrous black hair, and teeth of pearly whiteness, but they do not look good because they are out of place in relation to his other features, such as his shriveled complexion, and watery†¦show more content†¦Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust (Shelley 115). The creature was truly miserable and hated the fact that he was even alive. All he wanted was someone to accept him and like him for who he was. Victor was once again acting in a monstrous manner when he refused to make a friend for the creature. The fact that the creature was always shut out from society and abandoned by anyone he ever came in contact with shows that perhaps if he had a companion, he would not have been acting out in so many rages, which results in no longer having to seek revenge. There would be no revenge to seek because he would be happy and satisfied with his life. Perhaps Victor had not realized that Â…the power to create may produce consequences that cannot be foreseen or controlled (Smolensky 1756). Before Frankenstein created his creature, he had not intended it to be a threat to his friends and family. He had also not realized that evil creates evil (Mellor Mary Shelley 363). In this novel, Victor did not only act in monstrous way toward his creature, but toward his loved ones as well. When he learned that his youngest brother William had been murdered, he knew right away that the murder was committed by his very own creation, but refused to speak up and say anything about his knowledge. He knew that he would be held responsible for the murder because of the fact that he created the monster, and also because the monster killed hisShow MoreRelatedWho Is The Villain? - Frankenstein Or The Monster?1206 Words   |  5 PagesMarch 9, 2015 Who is the Villain? – Frankenstein or the Monster? Every story has its hero and villain. Some authors’ works easily clarify the debate between which character is the ultimate protagonist or the antagonist, but sometimes the author tries to toy with readers’ minds. Similarly, Frankenstein’s author, Marry Shelley is one of the authors who is not straightforward about who is the villain in her novel. 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