How to Recognize Common Figures of Speech

How to Recognize Common Figures of Speech Of the hundreds of figures of speech, many have similar or overlapping meanings. Here we offer simple definitions and examples of 30 common figures, drawing some basic distinctions between related terms. How to Recognize Common Figures of Speech For additional examples and more detailed discussions of each figurative device, click on the term to visit the entry in our glossary. Whats the difference between a metaphor and a simile?Both metaphors and similes express comparisons between two things that arent obviously alike. In a simile, the comparison is stated explicitly with the help of a word such as like or as: My love is like a red, red rose / Thats newly sprung in June. In a metaphor, the two things are linked or equated without using like or as: Love is a rose, but you better not pick it. Whats the difference between metaphor and metonymy?Put simply, metaphors make comparisons while metonyms make associations or substitutions. The place name Hollywood, for example, has become a metonym for the American film industry (and all the glitz and greed that go with it). Whats the difference between metaphor and personification?Personification is a particular type of metaphor that assigns the characteristics of a person to something non-human, as in this observation from Douglas Adams: He turned on the wipers again, but they still refused to feel that the exercise was worthwhile, and scraped and squeaked in protest. Whats the difference between personification and apostrophe?A rhetorical apostrophe not only animates something absent or non-living (as in personification) but also addresses it directly. For instance, in Johnny Mercers song Moon River, the river is apostrophized: Wherever youre going, Im going your way. Whats the difference between hyperbole and understatement?Both are attention-getting devices: hyperbole exaggerates the truth for emphasis while understatement says less and means more. To say that Uncle Wheezer is older than dirt is an example of hyperbole. To say that hes a bit long in the tooth is probably an understatement. Whats the difference between understatement and litotes?Litotes is a type of understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite. We might say litotically that Uncle Wheezer is no spring chicken and not as young as he used to be. Whats the difference between alliteration and assonance?Both create sound effects: alliteration through the repetition of an initial consonant sound (as in a peck of pickled peppers), and assonance through the repetition of similar vowel sounds in neighboring words (It beats . . . as it sweeps . . . as it cleans!). Whats the difference between onomatopoeia and homoioteleuton?Dont be put off by the fancy terms. They refer to some very familiar sound effects. Onomatopoeia (pronounced ON-a-MAT-a-PEE-a) refers to words (such as bow-wow and hiss) that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. Homoioteleuton (pronounced ho-moi-o-te-LOO-ton) refers to similar sounds at the endings of words, phrases, or sentences (The quicker picker upper). Whats the difference between anaphora and epistrophe?Both involve the repetition of words or phrases. With anaphora, the repetition is at the beginning of successive clauses (as in the famous refrain in the final part of Dr. Kings I Have a Dream speech). With epistrophe (also known as epiphora), the repetition is at the end of successive clauses (When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child). Whats the difference between antithesis and chiasmus?Both are rhetorical balancing acts. In an antithesis, contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in balanced phrases or clauses (Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing). A chiasmus (also known as antimetabole) is a type of antithesis in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first with the parts reversed (The first shall be last, and the last shall be first). Whats the difference between asyndeton and polysyndeton?These terms refer to contrasting ways of linking items in a series. An asyndetic style omits all conjunctions and separates the items with commas (They dove, splashed, floated, splashed, swam, snorted). A polysyndetic style places a conjunction after every item in the list.Whats the difference between a paradox and an oxymoron?Both involve apparent contradictions. A paradoxical statement appears to contradict itself (If you wish to preserve your secret, wrap it up in frankness). An oxymoron is a compressed paradox in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side (a real phony).Whats the difference between a euphemism and a dysphemism?A euphemism involves the substitution of an inoffensive expression (such as passed away) for one that might be considered offensively explicit (died). In contrast, a dysphemism substitutes a harsher phrase (took a dirt nap) for a comparatively inoffensive one. Though often meant to sh ock or offend, dysphemisms may also serve as in-group markers to show camaraderie. Whats the difference between diacope and epizeuxis?Both involve the repetition of a word or phrase for emphasis. With diacope, the repetition is usually broken up by one or more intervening words: Youre not fully clean until youre Zestfully clean. In the case of epizeuxis, there are no interruptions: Im shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! Whats the difference between verbal irony and sarcasm?In both, words are used to convey the opposite of their literal meanings. Linguist John Haiman has drawn this key distinction between the two devices: [P]eople may be unintentionally ironic, but sarcasm requires intention. What is essential to sarcasm is that it is overt irony intentionally used by the speaker as a form of verbal aggression (Talk Is Cheap, 1998). Whats the difference between a tricolon and a tetracolon climax?Both refer to a series of words, phrases, or clauses in parallel form. A tricolon is a series of three members: Eye it, try it, buy it! A tetracolon climax is a series of four: He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world.Whats the difference between a rhetorical question and epiplexis?A rhetorical question is asked merely for effect with no answer expected: Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution? Epiplexis is a type of rhetorical question whose purpose is to rebuke or reproach: Have you no shame?

4 Steps to Creating Great Thesis Statements for Undergraduate Research Papers

4 Steps to Creating Great Thesis Statements for Undergraduate Research Papers 4 Steps to Creating Great Thesis Statements for Undergraduate Research Papers Writing a great thesis statement for your undergrad research paper can be one of the most daunting parts of any paper. While students often become very frustrated, it helps to break your thesis statement down into its five basic parts. The first part of a thesis statement is the topic. Some students have this assigned to them while other students must create their own. If you are allowed to choose your own topic, then choose something that you already know about and think others would find fascinating. Alternatively, choose a topic that you want to learn more about because you will be spending some time exploring that idea. The second part of a thesis statement is your position. In order to arrive at your position, make a list of debatable topics within the topic area that you have chosen. Now, choose one position that you think you would like to support. Remember that your position is not a fact that you are supporting. Instead, it is your opinion. Now, look at your position and ask yourself if your answer is always true. If it is not, now is the time to qualify your thesis statement. It often helps to write the word although on your paper and follow it with your exception. Do not worry if your idea here is not a complete sentence. The next part of writing your thesis statement is to list the reasons that you believe your position is correct. Even though you may have to do a little research, you should be able to list four or five reasons to support your opinion. If you come up with a whole list of reasons, then you need to narrow your thesis statement. Alternatively, if you cannot come up with that many reasons then you may need to try a different position. You have now written your thesis statement in parts so all you have to do is put it together. Often, the easiest way to do this is to start with your exception. Teachers and professors often like to see this listed first because it lets them know quickly that you are interested in accuracy. Continue by presenting your general reason for your position and then close by stating your position. After creating your thesis statement, you will need to edit it for grammar and for correct punctuation. If you are allowed, show your thesis statement to your teacher or professor before you begin working on it. If you do not have the time to write your own paper, then contact at 800-573-0840 who have been helping undergraduate students create outstanding papers that are sure to get great results.

Media major essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Media major - Essay Example The latter are unmanned microprocessor based measuring gadgets. Crittercams are animal borne and thus provide continuous footage of habitats and animal habits that had previously not been thought possible. Another such technological tool is the Positron Emission Tomography (PET). A minute quantity of positron emitting radioactive material is ingested into the body, in such a manner that it reaches an organ or area suspected of being diseased. The emitted positrons are annihilated on coming into contact with electrons and the resultant release of pure energy is detected by sophisticated machinery. This provides an image of that organ or area, which is of significant use in diagnosis. PET has been of great help in diagnosing cancer, brain disorders and heart disease. It is an excellent non – invasive method for differentiating between malignant and non – malignant tumors. Thus, a process of nuclear physics has found widespread use in medical diagnosis. Crittercams were initially used for underwater photography. They have provided considerable knowledge about animals. Crittercams make it possible to film animals from a distance and image them remotely. Many of the programs telecast on the National Geographic Channel are taken with Crittercams (Haraway, 2007, Pp 258-259). Operation of Crittercams is unmanned, and there is no necessity of a camera operator. Crittercam cameras are attached to animals and one video was taken by installing a Crittercam on a seal’s back. Wherever the seal swam, videos were shot, which provided considerable information to scientists, regarding the Hawaiian monk seals and their ability to save the life of other animals. Greg Marshall, a marine biologist invented this technology, to find out about the life of marine creatures (Wichlegren, 10/23/98, P 8). Marshall and other scientists have conducted various experiments with Crittercams, by attaching the latter to seals, turtles and sperm whales.

The Employment Relations Environment in France Essay

The Employment Relations Environment in France - Essay Example France is characterized by heterogeneous employment relations prevailing in different firms, yet unionization has achieved significant status and recognition in the country (â€Å"Eurofound†). The French government has provided full legislative and legal support to its workforce in the form of strict and enforceable laws. Essential elements of French employment relations structure are: Employment is provided on written contract based agreements and minimal wages are authorized. Employment is also guaranteed and no worker can be thrown out of a job without sound reasons. Employees are also guaranteed sick and paid leaves with maternity leaves for women in addition. France is faced with many serious problems and challenges with respect to its employment relations structure due to some inherent shortcomings and governance loopholes which are discussed as below (Jenkins 17): There is no provision of either insurance or hygienic working conditions. In addition to this, women do not get proper representation in the workplace as they should get. The communication gap between management and union with respect to recruitment policy and other information details is a common problem. Collective bargaining is a well known and established tool of dispute and grievance handling which is not implemented in its entirety in France. People are either not aware of their roles or possess little knowledge of the legislative remedies available to them. Employees feel fearful of losing their job and so do not raise their voice and similarly, managers are hesitant in delegating decision making authority to others to avoid any hassles. This has resulted in many stark conflicts and battles between union and management in bigger firms.

Controlling Case study Essay Example for Free

Controlling Case study Essay Abstract This paper studies management control design of supplier relationships in manufacturing, a supply chain phase currently under-explored. Compared to supplier relations during procurement and RD, which research found to be governed by a combination of formal and informal controls, supplier relations in manufacturing are more formal, so that they could be governed by more formal and less informal controls. To refine the management control system and influencing contingencies, we propose a theoretical framework specifically adapted for the manufacturing stage. This framework is investigated by an in depth case study of the supplier management control of a Volvo Cars production facility. We identify three types of suppliers visualizing the associations in the framework and illustrating the framework’s explicative power in (automotive) manufacturing. Furthermore, the case contradicts that supplier relations in the manufacturing phase are governed by little informal control, because the automaker highly values the role of trust building and social pressure. Most notably, a structured supplier team functions as a clan and establishes informal control among participating suppliers, which strengthens the automaker’s control on dyadic supplier relations. Keywords: Management control; Supplier relationships; Manufacturing; Contingency theory; Case research; Automotive 2 1. Introduction In the current economic environment, characterised by globalisation and enhanced levels of competition, companies require an effective supply chain with inter-organizational relationships (IORs) to strive for sustainable competitive advantage. Not surprisingly, studies show that IORs have a high potential impact on organization performance (e. g. Anderson Dekker, 2005). Literature, however, also argues that many IORs do not provide the expected benefits and are often terminated because of managing difficulties (Ireland, Hitt Vaidynanath, 2002). Academics often propose that lack of coordination and opportunistic behaviour of partners are the two main reasons for the relatively high relationship failure rate (e. g. Dekker, 2004). Hence, management control systems (MCSs) are argued to play a critical role in preventing such failure, by establishing governance mechanisms to control the relationship (Ireland et al. , 2002). The fundamental goal of MCSs is to influence decision making in attaining strategic objectives (Nixon Burns, 2005). In an inter-organizational setting, this implies creating bilateral incentives to pursue mutual goals. Already in the mid-nineties, scholars started calling for more attention for this topic (e.g. Hopwood, 1996; Otley, 1994), and have not stopped since (e. g. van der Meer-Kooistra Vosselman, 2006). Consequently, inter-organisational MCSs have been studied from several angles, including outsourcing (e. g. Anderson, Glenn Sedatole, 2000), inter-organizational cost management (e. g. Cooper Slagmulder, 2004), partnerships (e. g. Seal, Berry, Cullen, Dunlop Ahmed, 1999), strategic alliances (e. g. Dekker 2004), networks (e. g. Kajuter Kulmala, 2005) and joint ventures (e.g. Kamminga van der MeerKooistra, 2007). Yet, the main emphasis was put on relational collaboration during the first stages of the supply chain, namely procurement, which involves the make-or-buy decision, partner selection and contract design, and RD. Although this historical focus is certainly justified, management control in a later phase of the supply chain, namely manufacturing, remains relatively under-explored (Cooper Slagmulder, 2004; Langfield-Smith Smith, 2003). However, purchased products and services for manufacturing account for more than 60% of the average company’s total costs (Degraeve Roodhooft, 2001) and are subject to continuous improvement with suppliers, also requiring adequate management control. Therefore, this study illustrates how manufacturers design the MCS of supplier relations in the manufacturing phase of the supply chain, which we refer to as â€Å"manufacturer-supplier relationships† (MSRs). In other words, we abstract from 3  procurement and RD influences. 1 Nevertheless, management control research on previous supply chain stages, offers a first theoretical insight into how a MCS for MSRs could look like. In particular, prior empirical research on IORs such as RD collaboration (Cooper Slagmulder, 2004), strategic alliances (Dekker 2004) and joint ventures (Kamminga van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007) found MCSs that combine both formal controls, like outcome controls, and more informal controls, such as trust building. Also the execution of service outsourcing projects, like industrial maintenance (van der Meer-Kooistra Vosselman, 2000), IT (Langfield-Smith Smith, 2003) and accounting (Nicholson, Jones Espenlaub, 2006) is governed by a combined MCS. So if we assume these findings to hold for other IOR types (external validity) and neglect potential characteristic differences, MSRs could be expected to be governed by a combination of formal and informal control as well. Yet, by taking into account differences between MSRs and other types of IORs, the MCS design could be different. In that respect, we argue that manufacturing is more formal than procurement and RD. Indications for that argument and its consequences for management control can be found in the management control framework of Das Teng (2001). Based on the variables in their framework2, task programmability and outcome measurability, it should be clear that for manufacturing both variable levels are high, or at least higher than in the case of procurement and RD. Consequently, the framework indicates that formal controls are suited mechanisms to govern MSRs. This argument is strengthened by the type of knowledge usage in MSRs, for which organization literature provides a clear distinction between knowledge exploration and knowledge exploitation. On the one hand, it is argued that the first supply chain phases, think of procurement and RD, aim at knowledge exploration, while the later stages, like manufacturing, primarily 1 Obviously, procurement and RD do impact the manufacturing phase. Yet, as our aim is refining supplier MCS design in the  manufacturing phase, we deliberately exclude these influences. In terms of research methodology, this abstraction is put into operation by studying a MSR between a manufacturer facility and supplier facility only dealing with manufacturing, while procurement and RD are handled by their respective mother companies (cf part three of this paper â€Å"research methodology†). 2 Although this framework was originally developed by Ouchi (1979) for use in MCS design within organizations, Das Teng (2001) further adapted it for use in IORs. Task programmability refers to the degree to which managers understand the transformation process in which appropriate behaviour is to take place. Outcome measurability refers to the ability to measure outcome precisely and objectively. When outcome measurability is high/low and task programmability is low/high, formal outcome/behaviour control should be set up to govern the relation. When both dimensions are low, informal control is preferable, but when both measures are high, both outcome and behaviour control are suited control mechanisms (Das Teng, 2001). 4  aim at knowledge exploitation. On the other hand, research shows that the exploration of knowledge is best governed by informal controls, while knowledge exploitation is most adequately controlled by formal controls (Bijlsma-Frankema Costa, 2005). Thus, based on the characteristics of high task programmability, high outcome measurability and knowledge exploitation goals, MSRs could be expected to be governed by primarily formal controls with little informal controls. In other words, the literature offers different management control designs for MSRs regarding the informal control level. Therefore, this study investigates how the MCS of MSRs is designed and how important informal controls are in that design, in particular in IORs between an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and suppliers of outsourced manufacturing activities in the trend-setting automotive industry (cf Womack, Jones Roos, 1990). An automobile is a complex product manufactured with thousands of components. Consequently, also this industry increasingly outsourced non-core activities and started relying on suppliers to create lower costs. To that end, a variety of supply chain management practices has been implemented, such as lean supply and continuous improvement. Yet, these induce the need for appropriate management control structures and bi-directional communication to organize and manage the relation (Carr Ng, 1995; Scannell, Vickery Droge, 2000). In that respect, one particular automaker, namely Toyota, is known for partnering with suppliers, transferring its expertise to help suppliers and installing softer forms of control including trust. To govern the search for continuous improvement in manufacturing, Toyota established the â€Å"Toyota Group† by means of a supplier association, an operations management consulting division and voluntary small group learning teams (Dyer Nobeoka, 2000). However, practitioner literature (e. g. Automotive News/Automotive News Europe) describes several other automakers governing this search by heavily formalized supplier relations. Contrary to cooperation during procurement and RD, manufacturing is argued to become much more demanding towards suppliers. Automakers increasingly transfer manufacturing risk and supply responsibility to first-tier suppliers, which results in suppliers delivering to very tight just-in-time and in-sequence schedules (Alford, Sackett Nelder, 2000). As a result, OEMs install formal controls and supplier improvement techniques, which alert suppliers to the importance of ameliorating supply performance at lower costs. Hence, also automotive practice shows evidence of high and low levels of informal control. Therefore, this study specifically investigates how the MCS of automotive MSRs is designed. Yet, besides illustrating MCS design, this paper contributes to explaining MCS design of automotive 5 MSRs. To our knowledge, little inter-organizational management control research specifically investigated contingency theory’s explicative power in manufacturing. Naturally, several papers study influences on MCS design in production environments, like the impact of manufacturing flexibility (Abernethy Lillis, 1995), customization and related interdependence (Bouwens Abernethy, 2000), profit centre strategy (Lillis, 2002), production strategy, production technology and organization (van Veen-Dirks, 2006). However, these studies investigate characteristics explaining MCS design in one organisation, while our study focuses on inter-organizational relations. To that end, we propose a refined theoretical contingency framework based on recent inter-organizational management control theory, but specifically adapted for the manufacturing stage. This framework proposes several contingencies determining the level of risk, which is governed by different levels of management control techniques. In order to illustrate the validity of the framework in practice and answer how and why automakers design their MCS, we perform an in depth case study of the relations between a facility (VCG) of the international OEM Volvo Cars and a selection of its first-tier supplier facilities. The case study provides considerable evidence of three supplier types, namely batch, low value-added just-in-sequence and high value-added just-in-sequence suppliers, visualizing the associations in the framework between contingencies, risks and management controls. These controls include both formal and informal techniques, of which trust building and social pressure are highly valued. Most notably, VCG’s structured supplier team functions as a clan and establishes informal control among participating suppliers, which strengthens control on the OEM’s dyadic supplier relations. As our framework draws on case findings from other less formal IORs, it seems that our case findings offer more evidence of their external validity. That way, the findings contradict that informal controls play a minor role in automotive MSRs. In particular, VCG’s MCS, combining both formal and informal controls, is argued to be designed specifically to improve supply performance. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In the second part, we develop the theoretical contingency framework. The third part describes the case research methodology. The fourth part is the actual case study, which presents VCG, describes three supplier types by means of contingency levels and clarifies how VCG designed the MCS governing them. In the fifth part, we discuss our findings by comparing VCG’s management control with previous findings and elaborating on the significance of VCG’s supplier team. We conclude the paper with a summary of the main findings and some avenues for further research. 6 2. Theoretical framework In this part, we develop a theoretical contingency framework for MCS design of MSRs, which can be found in figure I. Contingency theory originated with the aim of explaining the structure of organizations by particular circumstances. Later, management accounting researchers adopted and further developed the theory in order to explain the shape of MCSs in organizations (e. g. Chenhall, 2003; Luft Shields, 2003). Therefore, contingency theory suits this study, regarding MCS design of MSRs and its explicative variables. The central concept of the framework is the level of risk a certain MSR runs. Inter-organizational management control theory proposes two types of risk, which result from five different situational antecedents, characterizing the MSR. Although we clarify both risk types separately, we stress the integrative interpretation of all contingencies jointly determining both levels of risk. Subsequently, this risk is governed by different management control instruments, either with a large or a small role for informal control. 3 2. 1. Performance risk The first risk type is performance risk, defined as the probability of not achieving the MSR objectives, despite satisfactory cooperation (Das Teng, 2001). This type of risk is also referred to as â€Å"coordination requirements† (Dekker, 2004; Gulati Singh, 1998) or â€Å"the mastery of events† (Tomkins, 2001). As the MSR objective concerns manufacturing as many products of the order book as possible, on time, with good quality at the lowest possible cost, performance risk is the risk of a supply chain interruption disturbing the realisation of this goal. Three contingencies related to technology increase this risk, namely complexity, task uncertainty and task interdependence (Chenhall, 2003). Yet as complexity and task uncertainty are highly related (Chenhall, 2003), the framework does not include complexity separately (cf Dekker, 2004). 3 According to van Veen-Dirks (2006), all situational characteristics and MCS characteristics are determined jointly instead of sequentially. Also Kamminga van der Meer-Kooistra (2007) propose that the influence of contingencies is not determined by each antecedent as such, but by their interaction. In addition, they suggest studying control as an integrative concept, in which all control dimensions are incorporated. Consequently, we do not propose one-on-one associations between one specific contingency, one specific type of risk and one specific type of control, suggested to suit that risk type. Instead, our model simultaneously studies the associations between situational contingencies, risks and management control techniques, as put forward by the three boxes of figure I. The boxes of contingencies and risks are put together to stress their interdependence and joint impact on management control. 7 Task uncertainty relates to variability in transformation tasks and the available knowledge of methods for performing those tasks (Chenhall, 2003). This situational characteristic determines the measurability difficulty of output and activities (Kamminga van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007; van der MeerKooistra Vosselman, 2000), which increases with increasing levels of complexity of both the delivered product and its operational processes (Woodward, 1965). The first complexity is related to the added value of the product and gradually increases depending on whether the supplier delivers a standard component or an important customized module (Cooper Slagmulder, 2004). The second complexity regards the added value of the production process and reflects the complexity of the supplier’s manufacturing processes needed to effectively produce and deliver products as required. Task interdependence refers to the degree to which subactivities of the value creation process have been split up and made dependent on each other (Dekker, 2004). In MSRs, this interdependence is sequential (Thompson, 1967)4, because the relation involves transferring the supplier’s output to the manufacturer’s input process. The level of sequential interdependence is impacted by the dependence level of the manufacturer’s operational performance on the supply quality (timeliness and product quality). Moreover, the interdependence level of a specific MSR is influenced by the production flexibility required from both parties and the manufacturer’s lack of precise knowledge to perform activities previously done in-house. 2. 2. Relational risk The second type of risk is relational risk, implying the probability of not having satisfactory cooperation because of opportunistic behaviour of the supplier, exemplified in shirking, cheating, distorting information and appropriating resources (Das and Teng, 2001). This type of risk is also referred to as â€Å"appropriation concerns† (Dekker, 2004; Gulati Singh, 1998) or â€Å"the generation of trust† (Tomkins, 2001). Transaction cost economics (TCE) theory5 proposes three contingencies that influence relational risk and subsequently determine appropriate control: asset specificity, environmental uncertainty and transaction frequency (Williamson, 1979). Yet, as the manufacturer possesses no specific assets related to a certain supplier, at 4 Thompson (1967) identifies three levels of task interdependence from low to high, which influence the level of inter-organisational coordination and communication: pooled, sequential and reciprocal interdependence. 5 TCE argues that parties are only boundedly rational and behave opportunistically. Therefore, the total cost of outsourcing is the sum of both the supplied component costs and the transaction costs, including costs for negotiation, drawing up contracts, coordination, control and risk of opportunistic behaviour (van der Meer-Kooistra Vosselman, 2000). 8 least not in the manufacturing phase of the supply chain, there is no lock-in to supplier opportunistic behaviour. 6 Hence, unlike uncertainty and transaction frequency, asset specificity does not influence supplier opportunistic behaviour in MSRs and is not included in our theoretical framework. Consistent with being a central contingency research concept, environmental uncertainty also forms a powerful characteristic of MSRs (Chenhall, 2003). In particular, this contingency relates to general market uncertainties and uncertainty about unknown future contingencies (Kamminga van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007; Langfield-Smith Smith, 2003; van der Meer-Kooistra Vosselman, 2000). Because manufacturer and supplier interact under these uncertainties, both parties face changes over time, which require detailed contracts (Dekker, 2004). However, incomplete contract theory argues that there exist limitations in drawing up complete contracts, because all future contingencies can not be foreseen, are too expensive to foresee or are too expensive or impossible to contract upon (Gietzmann, 1996). Consequently, the combination of uncertainty and incomplete contracts leads to potential opportunistic behaviour of the supplier. According to TCE, more frequent interactions lower the possibility of opportunistic behaviour (Williamson, 1979). So, to preserve a positive relation between contingencies and relational risk, we could utilize infrequency as contingency variable (e. g. Anderson Dekker, 2005). Yet, as we study MSRs with no connection to commercial negotiations determining the contract term, we include the antecedent relational stability aim. This contingency relates to the manufacturer’s aim of continued future interactions with the supplier and serves to build bilateral commitment (Cooper Slagmulder, 2004). We argue that MSRs, in which relational stability is considered necessary and thus aspired by the manufacturer, are subject to higher relational risk. For example, if supplier switching costs are high due to high interdependence, high commitment from the manufacturer could incite the supplier to accept lower quality or delivery performance. Besides including a transaction environment characteristic and a transaction characteristic, we also incorporate a transaction party characteristic (Langfield-Smith Smith, 2003; van der Meer-Kooistra Vosselman, 2000). In particular, we include supplier knowledge importance, which encompasses the degree of importance for the manufacturer to know the supplier and to be able to assess characteristics, such as management competence, trustworthiness and willingness to share proprietary knowledge. Usually, this kind of assessment is done by means of first-hand or second-hand experience. Hence, we argue that when the 6 Obviously, suppliers do have specific assets in place, rendering them vulnerable to opportunistic behaviour from the part of the manufacturer. However, this study and the developed theoretical framework only focus on supplier opportunistic behaviour. 9 importance of supplier knowledge rises, the risk for insufficient or erroneous assessment and subsequent supplier opportunistic behaviour increases. 2. 3. Management control system Although MCSs have been conceptualised and categorised in various ways, the current management control literature has reached a consensus on two types of management controls, namely formal and informal control instruments (Langfield-Smith Smith, 2003). Obviously, studying the usage of informal controls compared to formal controls requires both control types to be included in the theoretical framework. Formal controls are explicitly set up to coordinate the MSR and include outcome controls and behaviour controls. Outcome control involves the measurement and evaluation of the outcomes of operations against pre-defined outcomes or targets, by using several performance measurement techniques (Ouchi, 1979; Dekker, 2004). The most important outcome metrics for MSRs are percentage of defects, quality of delivered goods and on time delivery of goods (Gunasekaran, Patel McGaughey, 2004). Behavioural control concerns the specification and actual surveillance of behaviour, by means of rules and standard procedures (Ouchi, 1979). Additionally, behaviour control includes evaluating compliance with pre-specified planning, procedures, rules and regulations (Dekker, 2004). Informal controls (also called social controls) are not explicitly designed, but are grown out of shared norms and values, shaped by frequent interaction, meetings and management attitude (Ouchi, 1979; Merchant, 1998). Especially trust building7 has emerged as a very important informal control instrument in inter-organizational MCSs (e. g.Dekker, 2004). While formal controls reduce the risk by altering the incentives for underperformance and opportunistic behaviour, trust mitigates risk by minimizing the fear of underperformance and opportunistic behaviour to occur (Das and Teng 2001). Therefore, we include three types of inter-organizational trust building, namely building contractual trust, competence trust and goodwill trust (Sako, 1992). 8 Contractual trust results from previous contractual relations or grows during the MSR 7 Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt Camerer (1998, p. 394). Define trust as â€Å"a psychological state comprising the intention to accept  vulnerability, based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behaviour of another†. According to them â€Å"trust is not a behaviour (cooperation), or a choice (e. g. taking a risk), but an underlying psychological condition that can cause or result from such actions† (Rousseau et al. , 1998, p. 395; italics added). As such, trust in itself can not be a control instrument in the MCS of MSRs. Instead, the control techniques are the actions the manufacturer performs to create and build trust in the supplier. 8 Contractual trust is based on the expectation that the supplier will keep promises and comply with agreements made, whether these10 (Sako, 1992). Competence trust is increased by previous good performance, i. e. good quality and delivery results. Moreover, competence trust results from buying activities from reputable suppliers or transferring competences to the supplier. Additionally, product and/or process certification and process standardisation enhance competence trust (Sako, 1992). To develop goodwill trust, Sako (1992) identifies shared values and norms as necessary, but insufficient, as transaction parties also need to show the willingness to be indebted to each other. Gulati (1995) stresses creating and growing an inter-organizational bond of friendship to trigger goodwill trust (Gulati, 1995). Other possible goodwill trust initiators are interactive goal setting, trustworthiness reputation and a long term relationship (Dekker, 2004). Next to these specific trust building mechanisms, the literature also proposes an important overall trust building technique, namely close interaction, based on mutual interests and established by means of joint decision making and joint problem solving via a joint relationship board and/or joint task groups (Das Teng, 2001; Dekker, 2004). 9 Besides trust building, MSRs can be governed by another type of informal control, which Ouchi (1979) refers to as clan control. Based on shared norms, values and a common inter-organizational goal, supplier behaviour in the interest of the MSR will be reinforced, because suppliers are motivated to achieve the goal (Das Teng, 2001). This incentive results from inter-organisational social pressure (Spekle, 2001) exerted by the manufacturer, which we believe is social control in its literal meaning. Because of high interdependence between manufacturer and supplier, below standard results of the supplier directly impact the manufacturer’s performance. Consequently, supplier management is unpleasantly confronted with manufacturer management and faces personal humiliation because of the error. Additionally, supplier management runs the risk of their reputation and personal relationship with interacting manufacturer management getting injured. Also Dyer Singh (1998) mention reputation and personal relations as social control mechanisms, besides norms and trust. By acting as negatively valued social sanctions (Bijlsma- are contractually stipulated or not. Competence trust concerns the expectation that the supplier possesses the necessary technical and managerial competences to deliver the order as agreed. Goodwill trust regards the expectation that the supplier shares an open commitment, with the willingness to perform activities beneficial to the MSR, but possibly neither in the supplier’s interest nor required by the contract (Sako, 1992). 9 Other potential overall trust building techniques in a MSR are communication via regular inter-organizational meetings (Chalos O’Connor, 2004; Das Teng, 2001), information sharing of problem areas (Chalos O’Connor, 2004), supplier development activities (Carr Ng, 1995), networking (Das Teng, 2001), training (Chalos O’Connor, 2004) and the extent to which the employees of both parties understand the factors ensuring the collaboration’s future success (Chalos O’Connor, 2004). 11 Frankema Costa, 2005), these social consequences create incentives for satisfactory supplier performance and render supplier opportunism hard to sustain (Spekle, 2001). If we assume operational snags to be day-today business in MSRs, this social pressure creates an informal means to mitigate risk in MSRs. 3. Research methodology 3. 1. Case study research The empirical part of this paper is based on an in depth case study, which is an investigation of a real life phenomenon, relying on multiple sources of evidence and benefiting from prior development of theoretical propositions (Yin, 1994). This research method suits our research that concerns refining existing interorganizational management control theory for the relatively under-explored manufacturing phase of the supply chain. 10 According to Keating (1995), such theory refinement needs a clear theoretical starting point, supplemented with openness to the discovery of unexpected findings. To balance these theory attachment and detachment requirements, we developed a theoretical framework to guide the data collection, but at the same time used data collection techniques allowing sufficient openness. Furthermore, several interorganizational management control case studies (e. g. Cooper Slagmulder, 2004; Dekker, 2004; Kamminga van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007; Nicholson et al. , 2006) strengthen the argument that cases allow investigating in detail the structure and influencing variables of IORs (Sartorius Kirsten, 2005). These studies show that theory refinement of MCS design can be adequately investigated by means of qualitative research. The social meaning of inter-organizational MCSs, especially regarding the use and interpretation of informal controls, and the subsequent behaviour of companies and employees is very complex. So if we only skim the surface, we will never discover how different parties interpret certain IORs and whether the MCS is designed accordingly. This argument not only justifies the choice for a case study, but also forms the reason 10 Our research corresponds to investigating a complex phenomenon within its real life context of which empirical evidence is rather limited, and answering how and why questions about this phenomenon, for which case study research is most suited (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 1994). Furthermore, Keating (1995) argues that case studies suit three goals and that our theory refinement goal represents the middle ground between theory discovery (describing novel phenomena) and theory refutation (disconfirming well specified theories by bringing in negative evidence). More specifically, our case research is of the theory illustration type, documenting â€Å"previously unappreciated aspects of management accounting practice† and identifying â€Å"aspects of the illustrated theory that require reformulation or more rigorous specification† (Keating, 1995, p.71). Indeed, the goal of this study is to illustrate how manufacturers design supplier MCSs, to what extent this design differs from designs in other IORs and how the design can be explained by means of a specifically adapted theoretical framework. 12 why more of this research is requested (e. g. Langfield-Smith Smith, 2003; Dekker, 2004; van der MeerKooistra Vosselman, 2006). 3. 2. Unit of analysis In most inter-organizational studies, the unit of analysis is one dyadic relation between two independent parties (van der Meer-Kooistra Vosselman, 2006). Since there exist different dyadic MSRs within one manufacturer and we study MCS’s dependence on relationship contingencies, our unit of analysis consists of specific MSRs. Dyer Singh (1998) explicitly propose the â€Å"relational view†, focusing on the buyer-supplier dyad, as opposed to the â€Å"industry structure view† and â€Å"resource based view†, when analyzing cooperative strategy and sources of inter-organizational competitive advantage. In order to answer the proposed research questions concerning MSR MCS design, we analyzed all relations after the manufacturer had decided to outsource the manufacturing activities. In other words, we addressed neither the make-or-buy decision nor related commercial negotiations, but collected data from the start of production onwards. Furthermore, we only gathered data on standard MCSs for MSRs with good operational performance. 3. 3. Case company selection The selection of the case company and its suppliers was influenced by two selection concerns: theoretical sampling (Eisenhardt, 1989), and open and flexible access to.

A Show About Nothing :: essays research papers

A Show About Nothing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the artcle, â€Å"Is Seinfeld the Best Comedy Ever?†, author Jay McInerney agrees with Seinfeld the best comedy on television. Seinfeld is a real life show. The behaviors of Jerry, Kramer, George and Elaine, the failed communication, and the everyday embassassment represent â€Å"nothingness† but a peculiar everyday life. These â€Å"nothingnesses† happen to all of us, but when it is put on TV, people will laugh at these. Besides, the author appreciates the fact that Seinfeld is a New York story but it is filmed in Los Angeles. â€Å"The lumpy texture of life in the city, the random looniness of the street, the idioms and speech inflections of Manhattan, and the claustrophobia of New York apartment living† in the show fascinates the New Yorker as it is so real and funny. Seinfeld takes those little nothings and combines them to create something realistic. Nothingness and reality give the author the reasons to believe that it is the b est comedy ever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When people consider Seinfeld as a â€Å"show about nothing†. It could be humorous that â€Å"nothingness† can provide such an interesting topic for the comedies of life. In life people care about details and worry about trouble, the little nothings made are soon forgotten. Thus, these â€Å"nothingnesses† are actually fragments of out real life. Seinfeld gathers the nothingness into a show, and it spreads out the idea that everything in the show that actually happens all around us. For example, losing the car in a parking garage, working for an eccentric boss and coping with the trials and tribulations of dating, it is common for a lot of people. And these realities come into the nothingness of Seinfeld.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Seinfeld, the fabulous four characters George, Kramer, Elaine and Jerry share the nothingnesses which life have granted them. George cannot attract thr girl because of his limitiations as a short, bald, fat man. Kramer struggles with the fact that he has not achieved anything in his life yet.. Elaine worries her hold on to a good boyfriend and a good job for long. And Jerry, living with his nothing friends, as well as his own LEX Luthurs which seem to always abstract his plans to find his own Lois Lane and live the life of Superman. The four were cramped in small apartments of New York and live a life of nothingness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Besides, even the settings in Seinfeld for great adventures appear muchlike nothing.

Frankenstein: Morality Essay

Morality. It has been questioned by people, honored by people and revered since the beginning of time. Yet even today not one person can say what is morally right. It is a matter of opinion. It was Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s opinion that it was alright to create a â€Å"monster†. Frankenstein’s creation needed a companion. Knowing that his first creation was evil should the doctor make a second? With the knowledge at hand, to Dr. Frankenstein, it is not at all morally correct to bring another monster into the world. Looking at this problem with his family in mind, the doctor begins his work on the second monster. The first monster threatened Frankenstein and even his family. The monster angrily said to Frankenstein, â€Å"I can make you so wretched. † (pg. 162) Trying to scare Frankenstein for not creating his mate the monster resorted to threats. If the good doctor does create a companion for his first creation he may be endangering others. â€Å"The miserable monster whom I had created,† (pg. 152) says Victor upon looking back at his work. If there is another monster there will be twice the power and possibly twice the evil, which could hurt or kill his family. When and if Frankenstein commits the moral sin of creating another monster he may be rid of both monsters forever. â€Å"With the companion you bestow I will quit the neighbourhood of man,†(pg 142) promises the morally corrupt monster to the doctor upon the completion of his partner. When the doctor, if and when he, finished his first creation’s mate there is a chance that the monsters will not keep their promise and stay in Europe envoking fear into townfolk. The good doctor, trying to act morally, destroys the monster for the good of the world. The monsters can potentially take over whatever they please. â€Å"A race of devils would be propegated,†(pg. 163) thinks Frankenstein to himself in his study. The monsters, if powerful enough, could possibly take over Europe. Frankenstein realizes that he can not possibly doom the world to benefit himself. â€Å"Shall I, in coold blood, set loose upon the earth a daemon.. â€Å"(pg. 162) argues Frankenstein with his creation. It is not morally right for one person to unleash such a terror on the world to benefit only himself and his family. Frankenstein will not let any example change his mind on the point that the monster is and will always be morally corupt. Continuing on his point that the monster was too evil to duplicate, Frankenstein says, â€Å"Your threats cannot move me to do an act of wickedness; but they confirm me in determination of not creating you a companion in vice. â€Å"( pg. 163) Frankenstein will not sacrifice his morallity because of persuation from a monster. Although beholding the threat of death and misery Frankenstein held his ground and did not sacrifice his moral. When and if Frankenstein creates another monster he can not feel as if he has done the morally right thing. From creating the monster Frankenstein will some how be making people other than himself unhappy. † I consent to your demand, on your solem oath to quite Europe forever, and every other place in the neighbourhood of man,†(pg. 143) says Frankenstein as he sees the power that the two could possibly possess. The good doctor sees that with his own hands he could possibly scar the world forever. The doctor wants, if anyone, himself to be unhappy instead of all of man kind. â€Å"Begone! I do break my promise,† (pg. 162) states the doctor angrily. Not thinking about himself but the world unselfishly breaks his promise to the monster. Possessing such a great mind the doctor is able to realize that a greater evil will be realesed upon the earth then upon himself. â€Å"Your threats cannot move me to do an act of wickedness,†(pg. 162) says the doctor as he argues his point with his creation. The doctor sees that a greater and more horrible result can come from him making the second monster than not. With the knowledge at hand, to Dr. Frankenstein, it is not at all morally correct to bring another monster into the world. On the one hand if the second monster was created Frankenstein’s family would be saved. By the same token the rest of the world could be forced to bow before two hideous monsters. The problem, making or not making the second monster, played heavily on Frankenstein’s mind, possibly caused his brief lapse into the realm of the insane. Even though Frankenstein began his work for the good of man his experiment ended up hurting himself and his family.

Examining the selection criteria for equity finance investment in social enterprise

Research Methodology The main purpose of this section is to discuss how the primary research has been carried out and the rationale for the choice of methodology. The conclusion of the literature review showed that there are currently no publically agreed criteria for social venture capital funding and very little in the way of conclusive advice for social enterprises attempting to raise this kind of funding. As a result, it is important to gather primary data to facilitate the development of robust conclusions and to answer the research questions. When proposing a research methodology for an in-depth study such as this, Saunders et al. (2009) suggest that it is practical to build the research methodology and research design in such a way that it supports the overall aim and objectives of the research. As such, every aspect of the methodology must reflect the overall purpose of the research, and be geared towards answering the research question and accomplishing its objectives (Neuman, 2000). This chapter therefore outlines the methodology through which the research objectives were met, and the question answered. Several important factors, such as the research philosophy, design, strategy and data collection are highlighted. Issues relating to the research’s validity, generalizability and reliability are also discussed. Research Philosophy According to Easterby-Smith et al (2008), it is important to understand the research philosophy being adopted in management research, as it helps clarify how the research should be designed, approached, and how data could be collected and analysed. Easterby-Smith et al also note that an understanding of the research philosophy could help the researcher in creating, designing and identifying research that may not in line with past experiences. Based on the research aims and objectives, the researcher deemed it most appropriate to adopt an interpretivist philosophy. This is due to the overriding aim of this research, which is to understand the reasons behind social enterprise funding, thus implying that there is a need to understand human responses to a situation, thereby making the result of the findings potentially subjective in nature (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003). Saunders et al (2009) note â€Å"interpretivism is an epistemology that advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand differences between humans in our role as social actors† The researcher will need to make sense of the subjective and socially constructed meanings expressed by respondents, as per the interpretivist philosophy (Saunders et al, 2009). The interpretivist perspective can be argued to be decidedly appropriate when it comes to management research due to the complexity and uniqueness of business situations (Saunders et al, 2012; Neuman, 2000). As a result of this choice, the positivist philosophy would not be adopted in this study, as it would be ineffective to adopt a philosophy that observes and generalises social reality (Robson, 2002). Collis and Hussey (2003) also argue that the positivist philosophy cannot help understand the inner feelings, attitudes and human emotions behind social enterprise investments, as these could differ from one investor to another. Research Approach According to Collis and Hussey (2003) a research that adopts an interpretivist philosophy should be inductive in its approach. An inductive approach to research can help to gain an understanding of human interpretation to events, which is especially useful in management research, where the attitude and motivation of stakeholders matter (Saunders et al, 2009). As this study is concerned with understanding how social enterprise investors determine their investment criteria, then it is useful for this research to adopt an approach that makes it possible to understand human emotions and attitudes, compared to the deductive approach that is usually based on generalised scientific principles and academic theories (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Research Purpose As the aim of this study is to identify what social venture capitalists look for in an investment opportunity, this lends itself very much to an exploratory research methodology. According to Robson (2002, pg. 59), â€Å"an exploratory research is a valuable means of finding out what is happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light.† Saunders et al (2009) also state that an exploratory research is useful if the aim of the research is to understand a problem, find out what’s happening, or when the researcher is particularly unsure about a research problem. As such, an exploratory study is an ideal design, as it helps to answer this research’s question more effectively. An exploratory study has been chosen compared to descriptive studies – which portray accurate events of people, events or situations (Robson, 2002), because this research seeks to ‘find out’ and not to ‘narrate’. Furthermore, the literature review already shows that there is insufficient information on selection criteria on social enterprise investments, which defeats the purpose of a descriptive study. The same also applies to explanatory studies, where the emphasis is to study a situation and explain the relationship between two or more variables (Saunders et al, 2009). This study is not designed to assess the relationship between variables, but rather to understand investor attitude. An exploratory study is therefore the most effective form of answering the research question. Data Collection Saunders et al. (2009) suggest that when gathering primary data for an inductive exploratory study, it is normal that much of the data will be qualitative in nature. While there is a considerable amount of quantitative data around the subject of venture capital and social enterprise, these statistics are not sufficient to clarify investment criteria. A further issue with quantitative data is that this research does not seek to reconcile hypothesis and as a result, a methodology needs to be chosen that produces qualitative data. To answer the research question, and to develop a better understanding of this new development for both the social VC and social enterprise industries, it is important to collect data that is rich in opinion and explanation (as recommended by Morris and Wood, 1991). Qualitative data collection is therefore the most appropriate for this research. As it is anticipated that much of the primary data gathered for this study will be qualitative in nature, Saunders et al. (2009) suggests that there are several techniques for gathering primary data. These include inter alia interviews, surveys, focus groups, case studies, and participant observation. To obtain rich data that will be sufficient to allow for analysis, the development of themes, and sufficient contrast of opinion, techniques such as questionnaires and general surveys with large samples are unlikely to be effective (Morris and Wood, 1991). Firstly due to the fact that they will not provide the necessary opinion to answer the research question but more importantly due to the fact that there is a limited sample of available respondents with the necessary experience in their industry, as will be clarified in the data sources section of this methodology. While both the VC industry and the social enterprise ‘movement’ are well established, the actual link between them is relatively new and as a result it is important to select a technique that allows for the development of theories to emerge during data collection and analysis. A longitudinal study would potentially be ideal as would the case study method, since both of these allow for the opportunity for the discovery of interesting new ideas and theories (Adams and Schvaneveldt, 1991). A longitudinal study is not appropriate for this dissertation due to the time constraints, and so a cross-sectional study is more appropriate. While there was the potential to carry out a case study of either a social VC fund or a social enterprise, this would have only provided information around one organization. To effectively analyse the link between two industries it is more appropriate to gather data from a broad cross section of organizations and links to avoid either any bias or à ¢â‚¬Å"isolate opinion† (Collis and Hussey, 2003). According to Belk (2008), the main weakness of qualitative data collection is that it can be limited by insufficient resources. This means that because interviews are resource intensive, a narrower range of opinion is gathered. However Collins & Hussey (2003) argue that if the interviews are well structured even though they only gather the opinions of a relatively small research population the depth and breadth of data gathered and the fact that it is contextually relevant is certainly sufficient in terms of data validity and reliability for an exploratory study such as this. Having established the time limitations and the issue that the potential sample is limited but should be sufficiently broad, interviews emerge as the most appropriate methodology. As Sanders et al (2009) explains, there are a number of different ways that an interview can be conducted. It is first important to establish which structure of interview is the most appropriate. There are three main categories of interview structure, and these are: structured, semi-structured and unstructured. The primary distinction between them being the level of freedom given to the researcher in terms of asking different questions to interviewees, and varying the length allowed for the responses (Saunders et al, 2009). The literature showed that there is no clarity as to either the criteria used for funding or for the advice to those seeking funding, and as a result there needs to be the opportunity for the interviewees to express opinion and provide information that moves beyond the confines of a set of structured questions. To develop new and interesting theories, it is essential that the interviews allow for different responses (Robson, 2002). However, this dissertation has a limitation of length which prevents unstructured interviews from being an appropriate technique as it could potentially allow for too much data to be collected making analysis overly complex or it could prevent the necessary focus on the issues related to the research question. Semi-structured interviews allow for sufficient data to be collected while also providing the flexibility that is necessary for the researcher to develop both original insight and sufficient opinion for the analysis (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Data Sources and Data Collection Techniques Since it has been established that the author shall conduct semi-structured interviews, it is important at this stage to re-visit the research questions, which are as follows: When evaluating social enterprises for equity investment, which criteria are considered most important Do social venture capitalists differ in their evaluation criteria compared to commercial venture capitalists Secondary research question: What are the drivers for the social venture capitalists A questionnaire has been developed accordingly and used as a guideline, allowing for flexibility of the discussion and giving the respondents room to reject certain questions or focus on questions that was within their expertise, whilst still ensuring answers to the more critical questions. This semi-structured format is favourable also because it allows for discretion and prioritization in time management, without the need to interrupt or inconvenience the respondent (Neuman, 2000). Primary data has been gathered using said questionnaire, from five individuals that are responsible for screening social enterprises in the UK for access to equity investment. Five interview respondents were seen as ideal for a number of reasons. Firstly, this research is exploratory in nature; secondly, time constraints would have made it difficult to gather and analyse data from more than five respondents; and lastly, it was difficult to gain access to these individuals. The semi-structured interviews were conducted over the phone and in face-to-face environments, as per the respondents’ preference. The questionnaire was shared beforehand allowing the respondents time to consider and prepare for the questions if need be, as well as to filter out respondents who were not well suited. Research participants were encouraged to expand upon their responses to allow the researcher to gather a wide range of data (Belk, 2008). The interviews were audio-recorded with consent and subsequently transcribed verbatim[1], in order to allow the researcher to focus on the interview and fully engage with the respondent, without compromising on the accuracy of the data collected (Robson, 2002). This further allowed for the researcher to take note of additional non-verbal communication to enrich the quality of data retrieved (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009). At the end of each interview, a summary was developed in order to reflect upon the progression of the interview process and start developing any findings. This â€Å"stop and reflect† process in between interviews, as recommended by Saunders et al (2009), has allowed the researcher to adapt to this new knowledge and delve deeper into the research questions with each ensuing interview. This process has led to an additional set of questions on the questionnaire[2], with the aim of addressing four new research questions: Is there in fact a market/demand for equity investment in social enterprise in the UK Is there a supply/demand balance of social enterprises to social investment How do SIFIs interact What does the future of social investment look like Once the data had been gathered, the author administered data reduction techniques (Miles and Huberman, 1994) by critically reviewing and selectively focusing on key parts of the extended text which are the transcripts. By extracting relevant pieces of information to answer our research questions, along with our notes throughout the interview process, the author was then able to codify the data, which was then subject to thematic analysis. Data collection, data analysis and the development and verification of the propositions have been very much an interactive and interrelated set of processes, whereby actual analysis occurred throughout. The flexibility of this process was key to enabling more insightful data and propositions, as enabled by an inductive approach. Issues of Reliability, Validity and Generalisability Reliability denotes the extent to which findings from a research can provide consistent findings, if another study were to adopt its data gathering and sampling technique (Easterby-Smith et al, 2008). The major threats to research liability: respondent bias, respondent error, interviewer bias and interviewer error (Robson, 2002) were avoided by: Sending the questionnaires to the respondents beforehand to avoid misinterpretation of intent or questions. Audio-recording the interviews, and taking ‘time-outs’ to reflect on the answers and ask further questions. Analyzing the data using data-reduction techniques, in order to prioritize the key findings and avoid loss of data. Validity, according to Saunders et al (2009) â€Å"is concerned with whether findings are really about what they appear to be about†. The interview questions were based on the research question, thus linking respondent answers to the overall aim of the research. Furthermore, the respondents were accredited professionals with industry insight on social enterprise investments. As a result, they were most fit to answer the interview questions. This helped ensure the data collected and analysed was valid. Generalisability measures the extent to which research findings are generalizable to other research settings (Saunders et al, 2009). Due to the inductive nature of this study, it is the researcher’s opinion that the findings of this research are generalizable to social enterprise investments in the UK. The findings from this research could help explain how investors determine what social enterprises they would invest in the UK. This is due to socio-economic factors that may differ from one country to another. Ethics With any primary research it is imperative that matters relating to research ethics are taken into account (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003). This includes ensuring that research participants have a clear understanding of what the research will entail and their contribution to the research. Research participants have agreed to support the research voluntarily, and so Denzin and Lincoln (2003, p.114) describe this as â€Å"informed consent†. The author has explained the nature of the research and reassured research participants of their role. Furthermore, confidentiality will be maintained through ensuring anonymity of research participants throughout this dissertation, only divulging participants’ names on a need to know basis to dissertation assessors. Not only is this ethical best practice, but Bryman & Bell (2011) also highlight the fact that it further ensures that the researcher gathers legitimate data which is not subject to inadvertent bias, for example a research p articipant feels that they must say nice things about their supervisor. In this instance because the research is heavily reliant on personal opinion then it is imperative that research ethics are observed. Due to the respondents’ varying assumptions in definition when referring to key research terms, such as â€Å"social enterprise† and â€Å"social venture capital†, all questions were clarified in detail where necessary, and the author ensured an alignment of understanding prior to collecting data. References Adams, G. R. and Schvaneveldt, J. D. (1991) Understanding Research Methods, Longman Group: UK, 406pp Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007) Business Research Methods, 2nd Ed, Oxford University Press: Oxford, 786pp Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2003) Business Research: A Practical Guide for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students, 2nd Ed, Palgrave McMillan: NY, 374pp Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R., and Lowe, A. (2008) Management Research: An Introduction, 2nd Ed, SAGE: London, 194pp Morris, T. and Wood, S. (1991), ‘Testing the survey method: continuity and change in British industrial relations’, Work, Employment & Society, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 259- 82. Neuman, W. L. (2000) Basics of social research: qualitative and quantitative approaches, Pearson: UK, 391pp Robson, C. (2002) Real world research: a resource for social scientists and practitioner – researchers, 2nd Ed, Wiley-Blackwell: NY, 599pp Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2009) Research methods for business students, Fifth Edition, Pearson Education: NJ, 624pp

Free Essays on Knowledge Based Society

As the motion of changing from an industrial based society to a knowledge based society comes into effect, one must consider the positive and negative aspects it can have on a person’s life and their environment; essentially speaking about the world. This concept influences the entire world of an individual, which includes their life at work, home and their learning environment. Like the saying goes, â€Å"knowledge is power.† Being aware, stimulated, challenged, educated are all part of knowledge and the learning process. With the help of technology and computers, this power is now at the hand of everyone, or it will be in the near future. Although the ease of acquiring information is positive, it also has its downfall. Issues arise on the question of what sources can be trusted and what sources should one avoid. Knowledge has in the past been hard to obtain, or only accessible by a selected few. In my opinion the poor have always suffered from the lack of resources or education. Today this is an issue which is rapidly changing, through the use of computers. Computers are more and more becoming a household appliance. It has been predicted that in the future everyone will own a computer. With the help of technology, computers are becoming more and more inexpensive and affordable. With it, the speed of production and invention accelerates faster and faster. The access to knowledge is getting even faster with technology such as the internet, and high speed connection. It is only natural to have advantages and disadvantages with the development of something new. The disadvantages can be minimized through the help of both the individual and the collective. A simple disadvantage occurs when wrong information is accessed or displayed. You don’t want people who seek information to get the wrong idea about a concept, person, or event. All information should be evaluated by seeking other resources. It all comes d... Free Essays on Knowledge Based Society Free Essays on Knowledge Based Society As the motion of changing from an industrial based society to a knowledge based society comes into effect, one must consider the positive and negative aspects it can have on a person’s life and their environment; essentially speaking about the world. This concept influences the entire world of an individual, which includes their life at work, home and their learning environment. Like the saying goes, â€Å"knowledge is power.† Being aware, stimulated, challenged, educated are all part of knowledge and the learning process. With the help of technology and computers, this power is now at the hand of everyone, or it will be in the near future. Although the ease of acquiring information is positive, it also has its downfall. Issues arise on the question of what sources can be trusted and what sources should one avoid. Knowledge has in the past been hard to obtain, or only accessible by a selected few. In my opinion the poor have always suffered from the lack of resources or education. Today this is an issue which is rapidly changing, through the use of computers. Computers are more and more becoming a household appliance. It has been predicted that in the future everyone will own a computer. With the help of technology, computers are becoming more and more inexpensive and affordable. With it, the speed of production and invention accelerates faster and faster. The access to knowledge is getting even faster with technology such as the internet, and high speed connection. It is only natural to have advantages and disadvantages with the development of something new. The disadvantages can be minimized through the help of both the individual and the collective. A simple disadvantage occurs when wrong information is accessed or displayed. You don’t want people who seek information to get the wrong idea about a concept, person, or event. All information should be evaluated by seeking other resources. It all comes d...

The Best Way to Read the SAT Writing Passages

The Best Way to Read the SAT Writing Passages SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The format of the SAT Writing section is very unique, and you may not have taken a test with a similar format. To reach your target score, you're going to need a specific approach to tackle the passage-based questions. In this article, I will explain the various approaches you can take when reading the SAT Writing passages, and I'll guide you on how to identify the strategy that will work best for you. Why Do You Need a Specific Approach to Reading SAT WritingPassages? The format of the SAT Writing section is unique and determining which approach will work best for you will help you combat likely mistakes. Some students only look at the underlined portions of sentences without understanding their context. Another common mistake is to rush through the section and make careless mistakes. Having a tested approach will help you maximize your efficiency. Regardless of the approach you take, you should always read the complete sentence that contains the underlined portion. Also, you have to be consistent. Once you decide the best approach for you, use that approach on all your practice questions. Omar Reyes/Flickr The Top 4Strategies for Reading SAT Writing Passages These are the different approaches you can take to reading the passages. #1: Paragraph-by-Paragraph For this approach, you read each paragraph, and then you answer the questions in that paragraph. The benefits of using this approach are that you’ll understand what’s going on in the passage before you answer questions, and you’ll be forced to read full sentences before answering questions. The main drawback of this approach is that it can be time-consuming. I recommend trying this approach on a practice section and seeing if you’re able to finish the section in 35 minutes. If you only need a couple extra minutes to finish, this approach can still work for you because you'll probably speed up with repeated practice. If you don't feel comfortable or confident being able to finish using this approach, you may want to use one of the other strategies I'll discuss. Let's go through how the paragraph-by-paragraph approach works using a practice SAT Writing section. If you were using the paragraph-by-paragraph approach on this section, you would read the entire paragraph up until â€Å"conversation† and then do question 31. This approach would work well here because question 31 requires an understanding of the paragraph. Then, you would read the next paragraph before attempting to answer questions 32 and 33. On the SAT, you would repeat this process for each paragraph in each passage. In case you're curious, I've provided the answers to these questions. Answers:31. C, 32. A, 33. A Paragraphetzel (Windell Oskay/Flickr) #2: Answer as You Go In this approach, you read through the passage, and when you come to an underlined portion, you read past it to the end of the sentence. Then you answer the question before continuing. The benefits of this strategy are that it’s straightforward and fast. It’s a good strategy to try if you find yourself running out of time on the paragraph-by-paragraph approach. The biggest drawback of this strategy is that you may have trouble answering questions about paragraphs and transitions that require a more thorough understanding of the passage. Personally, I like to use the answer as you go approach, but when I come to a question that requires me to read more of the passage, I continue reading until I have enough information to correctly answer the question. You can also save the questions that require a more complete understanding of the passage until the end when you’ve answered the other questions and have completely read the passage. If you use the answer as you go strategy, make sure you read until the end of sentences before answering questions. Here’s how to use this approach correctly: If you used this approach, you would read the paragraph up until â€Å"machines† before doing question 26. After completing question 26, you would read the next sentence until â€Å"presentations.† Then you would do question 27. Finally, you would read the final sentence of the paragraph and then do question 28. For question 28, you may need to refer to the earlier paragraphs or the paragraph that follows to eliminate answer choices. However, for this particular question, because you will have read the entire passage up until this point, you can correctly answer this question without doing any additional reading. While this approach is quicker, it can lead to more errors if you’re unable to recognize when you need to do more reading to correctly answer questions. Answers:26. A, 27. B, 28. C #3: Sentence-by-Sentence In the sentence-by-sentence approach, you only read sentences that include underlined portions. This strategy has significant drawbacks because you won’t comprehend the passage as well, and that may make answering some of the writing style questions that require a more thorough understanding of the passage rather difficult. I don’t recommend using this approach if you’re shooting for a 650 or above on Reading and Writing. However, if you find yourself running out of time using other approaches or you’re getting distracted by irrelevant details, this could be a good approach for you. Just make sure you’re reading the entire sentence. Let’s take a look at this approach in practice: Read the first sentence and then do questions 34 and 35. Then read the next sentence and do 36. After, you can skip the sentence that starts with "Planned" and read the sentence containing 37 that starts with â€Å"It also reinforces.† Again, if you encounter a question that requires a more thorough understanding of the passage, you can skip it and come back to it later, or you can read more of the passage until you know enough to answer the question. If you’re using this strategy, follow this approach for each question in every passage. Answers:34. D, 35. A, 36. D, 37. A #4: Passage First The last approach is to skim the entire passage, and then go back through using sentence-by-sentence to answer the questions. This strategy is the most thorough, and it can be helpful if you find yourself having trouble on the organization or big picture questions. However, this approach can take too much time and be trouble than it’s worth.If you're a fast reader and have the most difficulty with the organization and content-based questions, this approach can be beneficial. If you struggle with time or feel more comfortable answering the questions as you read the passage, then this isn't the ideal approach for you. How to Find the Right Strategy and Use It Effectively Here are the steps to go through to figure out which approach to use. Step #1: Try Paragraph-by-Paragraph For most students, this approach will yield the best results. It may not be the best one for you, but try it first to see how it works. Step #2: Analyze Why You’re Missing Questions to Decide on the Best Approach After you finish your practice section, go over it very carefully; figure out why you got questions wrong and where you struggled. Make sure you know how to review practice tests. Think about these questions to decide which approach to try: Did you run out of time? If you’re running out of time with 5 or fewer questions left, try the answer as you go approach. If you’re running out of time with 6 or more, try sentence-by-sentence. Do you have time left over? How much? If you have more than 3-4 minutes left at the end and you’re missing questions, you need to slow down. You’re probably rushing. Make sure to read the passage and questions carefully. Are you missing a lot of the big picture questions that ask about entire paragraphs or the passage as a whole? If so, you may want to focus on your reading comprehension and attentively reading the passage. Based on your answers to these questions, decide which approach is best for you, and then practice that approach. It may take a couple of attempts to figure out what works best for you. Remember that regardless of which approach you take, you need to read the whole sentence before answering questions. Step #3: Practice Your Approach Repeatedly Once you decide on an approach, use it on every practice test and question. The purpose of having a designated approach to the passages is to enable you to correctly answer the questions as efficiently as possible. If you’re having difficulty maintaining a certain approach, you may want to try another one that’s easier for you to follow. It may take some time to find the best approach for you, but once you find it, you’ll be able to maximize your score. These approaches only work if you use them consistently. What's Next? If you're trying to master the content for SAT Writing, make sure you know the 12 most important grammar rules. Also, you're going to want to review my articles on punctuation and transitions. For those of you aiming for perfection, get expert advice from a perfect scorer on how to get a 1600. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Writing and grammar lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

DRVVT test Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DRVVT test - Lab Report Example This means that there is the presence of common pathway clotting factors in at least 30% activity. Failure to detect APS could be as a result of mishandling of patient samples. In this case, there could be an introduction of protein contaminants of the same nature thus make it difficult to distinguish APS proteins from the other protein contaminants. Anionic phospholipids serve as strong cofactors required for the gathering of 3 different coagulation complexes when they get exposed on the apical cell membrane surface. These coagulation complexes are the tissue factor-VIIa complex, the Xa-Va complex, and the IXa-VIIIa complex, which participate in blood coagulation. In this way, they are able to enhance the activity of phospholipid-dependent coagulation factors. Vitamin K is an essential contributor in the synthesis of a number of proteins that participate in blood coagulation and also anticoagulation. It is an essential cofactor for a carboxylase enzyme that catalyses the carboxylation of glutamic acid residues found on vitamin K-dependent proteins that participate coagulation. These proteins include prothrombin factors II, VII, IX and X Sources of vitamin K include leafy greens, liver, and cauliflower. Vitamin K is also largely synthesized in the large intestines by bacteria. It is important to note that vitamin K is fat-soluble in nature and that obtained from foods as well as that produce by microbes in the large intestines get absorbed into intestinal lymph together with other

Critically evaluate, in relation to the common law duty of care, the Essay - 10

Critically evaluate, in relation to the common law duty of care, the liability of employers for references. How, if at all, does - Essay Example Along these lines it is essential for the petitioner to secure that the litigant owed them a duty of care. The presence of a duty of care hinges on, upon the sort of misfortune and distinctive legitimate tests, applying to diverse misfortunes. This address recognizes the position in connection to particular damage and property harm. Critical Evaluations between a university and an employer in reference provisions Liability of a university such as Sussex in providing reference In the University of Sussex, It has dependably been clear that they owe a general obligation of consideration in planning references for learners. On the other hand, court decisions now make clear that this obligation has a particular legitimate measurement, and that an official may be subject for harms to the subject of a reference if misfortune is brought on to that individual through carelessness. Such obligation might come to fruition through lack of regard on matters of reality or estimation. In this way th ey guarantee that they put a duplicate of the reference you compose on the focal record. For current learners, this means the School record; for ex-people they send it to the Student Systems Office, Sussex House to be documented (Sussex, 2013). They likewise attempt to be reasonable, acknowledging the obligation of consideration owed to both the subject and the beneficiary of the reference, they also guarantee that the reference is genuinely exact and true as they are unequivocally encouraged to ask for, as suitable, the present School document or the filed index from the Student Systems Office and to check your realities as needs be (Sussex, 2013). It is additionally exceptional to note that they attempt however much as could reasonably be expected to oppose demands to compose up unsolicited references particularly when the person has not referred to you as a ref and likewise have halted from phone references as Oral references are effectively mis-interpreted, mis-listened, or misc onstrued (Sussex, 2013). This practice does not contrast much from the act of that of a manager to the procurement of references as is set to be laid out underneath or below. Liability of an employer providing References. There is no legitimate commitment on a boss to provide a reference for an ex-representative. This is liable to administrative prerequisites in certain divisions, for example financial services and where the gatherings have entered into an understanding, for example a bargain assertion under which they have contractually concurred a reference. A management's strategy on whether or not to give a reference needs to be dependable: a choice to provide a reference to some however not all ex-representatives could be discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) if this is linked to ensured qualities (Flint, 2013). Where a superintendent does provide a reference, he/she has a duty of care to the ex-representative and must take sensible care in the readiness of the r eference which must be accurate, correct and reasonable and not give a misleading image. While the given reference does not necessarily have to be comprehensive, it should not be misleading through oversight. A manager may be obligated for careless error where its reference gives an inaccurate impression and in great cases it might likewise be subject in the tort of double