Article Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Article Analysis - Essay Example Targeting the investors and potential investors in the Canadian stock exchange, the article warns them of the imminent crisis that has already started taking shape on the economy of Canada. It also targets the policymakers who are supposed to take into account the pitfalls and offer solutions of how the situation can be improved. According to them, an investor who opts to hold their investments in the Canadian BMO Capital Market Authority or any investment banks in the country risk making losses from their investments. They provide evidence supporting their hypothesis which indicates a losing trend that the Loonie has been facing in the recent years. Basically, the subject of their argument is the contribution of the oil crisis to the poor performance of the Canadian dollar in relation to other currencies and the U.S. dollar. Other contributing factors to soring the situation have been discussed, which include low buying of the government bonds and the decreasing demand for Canadaâ⠂¬â„¢s triple-A-rated sovereign debt. The poor performance of the loonie against other currencies prompted Walter & Karen to write this article. Most importantly however, it was the poor sale of the country’s crude oil that made the issue more serious warranting their reference to the poor performance of the currency. The fact that Canada’s oil prices have been performing poorly in reference to other oil producing states is evidence to this. Trading at about $ 65 a barrel, the Canadian oil poorly performs against international oil prices. In the article, 'Loonie' Slips on Oil Patch Walter & Karen explores the influence of Canada’s oil reserves on the performance of the Canadian dollar. While the global crude oil prices have remained competitively high, the poor price of the Canadian oil proves to be a liability to the country’s economy and exchange rate. The major contributing factor of this trend is the boom in the U.S. oil in the Northern American regio n. A barrel of the Canadian oil trades at only $65 dollars, while the international market prices stand at $115 per barrel. Contrary to other currencies that move along with the changes in the oil prices, the loonie has been facing a downward performance against the dollar, shedding off 0.5% this year. The biggest disadvantage of the Canadian currency, points out experts is over reliance on petrol exports. The weak currency is expected to remain weak so long as the oil prices remain low. Effects of the poor prices of the oil have not only negatively influenced on the currency performance, notes Walter & Karen. The shocks of this have been felt by the economy, negatively affecting the annual economic growth which the central bank forecasted to drop from 2.3% to 2%. Moreover, the prices have also contributed to a widening trade deficit, reaching up to C$2 billion. As experts continue loosing hope in the recovery of the dollar, more investors keep pulling out of the market. Data indica tes so, as bonds have been facing a decreasing trend since June of last year, hitting the lowest point in November. As more people shy from bond buying that was the biggest source of income for the country’s funds, the face value of the currency seems to be overvalued. The oil

Edit the Actual CV to be Oriented according to the Instructions Personal Statement

Edit the Actual CV to be Oriented according to the Instructions - Personal Statement Example eted financial structures and products within accounting, client service, budgeting, and project management, financial both nationally and internationally. MBA degree holder from UNAH San Pedro Sula Honduras, and is currently pursuing Doctorate degree in Business and administration from Help University. My responsibilities demonstrate accounting expertise in taxation activities like assessable income, capital gains, and deduction and substantiation and preparation and completion of internal control systems for preparation of final statements. In addition, my strong analytical skills have enhanced my role in budgeting particularly during internal audits such that all operations remain within budget and are in accordance to financial regulations and practices. For financial analysis and management roles, I have carefully analyzed different financial information for provision of direction and support, optimal funds utilization, identifying recommendations, and guaranteeing that all operations are within the required budget. I am an accomplished project manager with demonstrated competent ability to lead projects to triumphant ends, coach and mentor other team members to develop their project management skills and allowing them to manage parts of the project. My experience in multinati onal organizations have enabled me to manage and lead numerous cross-sectional teams to represent all organizational interest in a system, product, or service as a means of vast communication, easy alignment, and building better products. Managed by oversee the implementation of a new asset management control of all asset management operations according to IPSAS , to guarantee support of control and best practice, effective internal controls and procedures, and proactive approach to meet costs while sharing best practices, regulations and requirements to be applied in operations. Developed and implemented a coaching programs and tools for my team focusing on timely and efficient

Influence Of Demographics On Leadership Styles

Influence Of Demographics On Leadership Styles Quantitative research methodology were applied in this study to identify leadership styles in current state Islamic Banking managers need to be successful in their position, This study also integrated quantitative methodology to explain current state Islamic Banking leaders in terms of their demographics and leadership styles. The primary purpose of this study was to identify and describe the leadership styles of current managers or leaders in Islamic Banking, in terms of their leadership styles and their demographics (autocratic, democratic, and laissez faire),( gender, age, Tenure) in describing current managers. Introduction Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing. People who can influence the behaviors of others, Are able to influence without having to rely on force, are accepted by others as leaders, who exhibit the leadership practice Challenge the Process are not bound by the status quo, are open to innovation, and encourage risk-taking within the organization, Inspire a Shared Vision are able to look ahead and see what the organization can be while at the same time enlisting the efforts of others in the achieving the common goals of the organizational vision, By engaging in behaviors characteristic of the Enabling Others to Act practice transfer power to others in the culture of the organization, participate others in the decision making processes and ultimately build trust and mutual respect between each other. Leaders also Model the Way set examples by adhering to the same rules and expectations of others within the organization, also utilize the Encourage the Heart practice recognize the contributions of individuals and celebrate the accomplishments of others. This paper, therefore addressed the following specific objectives: 1. Does leadership styles matter? 2. To explain the influence of demographic variables (gender, age, Tenure) on the leadership styles. History In order to begin understanding the concept of leadership, we must be aware of the theories of leadership as a whole. (Yukl 2002) classified practical research and leadership theories into five approaches: the trait approach, the behavioral approach, the power-influence approach, the situational approach, and the integrative approach. Studies that have been conducted within these approaches to leadership have made distinct contributions to our understanding of what leadership is, and each approach continues to influence our thinking about leadership as a process (Nahavandi). Approaches The Trait Approach: leadership mentioned specific attributes of leaders such as individuality, motives, values, and skills (Yukl 2002). The basic statement that guided the trait leadership studies was that leaders possessed certain traits that other people did not possess. In real meaning, the trait approach assumed that leaders were born, not made. The Behavioral Approach: After the studies conducted using the trait approach failed to produce certain result, many researchers began using a behavioral approach to study leadership. Researchers began looking into what leaders actually did on the job (Yukl 2002). According to Yukl, research conducted under the behavioral approach falls into one of two subcategories: how leaders benefit from their time and the typical pattern of actions, tasks, and functions of their jobs, and identifying effective leadership behavior. The Power-Influence Approach: According to (Yukl 2002), this type of approach to leadership involves the study of the influence that takes place between leaders and other people. Studies that have been conducted with this approach generally focused on leadership in terms of the amount of power possessed by a leader, the different types of power, and how power was exercised (Yukl 1989). The Situational Approach: The situational approach mentioned the importance of appropriate factors in the study of leadership. (Yukl 1989, 2002) identified the following contextual factors: the leaders authority and maturity, and the units who can perform leader tasks, the personality of the followers, the type of organization, and the nature of the exterior environment. The Integrative Approach: Researchers using the integrative approach to leadership consist of more than one type of leadership variable, such as trait, behavior, influence processes, and situational variables (Yukl 2002). (Bass 1990: 52-76) stressed the importance of including more than one type of leadership variable in research involving leaders and leadership when he stated, cognitive, behavioral, and interactional explanations are likely to be needed to account fully for leader-follower relations and outcomes from them. He further stated that leadership must be conceived in terms of the interaction of variables that are in constant flux. Leadership theories such as charismatic and transformational leadership are good examples of an integrative approach to leadership. These theories are broader in scope: they simultaneously involve leader traits, power, behavior, and situational variables (Yukl 1989: 270). Leadership Styles (Bass 1990) He talked about leadership as a procedure of interaction, between individuals and groups that includes a structured or restructured situation. Leadership can be explained as the ability of an individual to have power that focuses on how to establish directions by adapting forces (Go et al. 1996). From an organizational view, (Schermerhorn 1999) believed that most important is a process used to motivate and to influence others to work hard in order to achieve and Support organizational goals, while (Hersey et al. 2001) believed that leadership effect individuals behavior based on individuals and organizational goals. (Robbins 2001) defined leadership as the ability of an individual to affect the behavior of a group to achieve organizational goals. It is possible to conclude from these discussions that leadership is a group of phenomena, where by leaders are distinctive from their followers, and can influence individuals activities to achieve set goals in their organizations. Leadership style is defined as the pattern of behaviors that leaders display during their work with and through others (Hersey and Blanchard 1993). (Miller et al. 2002) view leadership style as the way of interactions between leaders and followers. It includes controlling, directing, definitely all techniques and methods used by leaders to motivate followers to follow their directions. According to (Kavanaugh and Ninemeier 2001), there are three factors that determine the type of leadership style: leaders characteristics, subordinates characteristics and the organization environment. More specifically, the personal background of leaders such as personality, knowledge, values, and experiences shapes their feelings about appropriate leadership that determine their specific leadership style; employees also have different personalities, backgrounds, expectations and experiences, for example, employees who are more knowledgeable and experienced may work well under a democratic leadership style, while employees with different experiences and expectations require a autocratic leadership style. Some factors in the organization environment such as organizational climate, organization values, composition of work group and type of work can also influence leadership style. However, leaders can adapt their leadership style to the perceived preferences of their subordinates (Wood 1994). Leadership styles can be classified depend on leaders power and behavior as autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire, where styles are distinguished by the influence leaders have on subordinates (Mullins 1998) (Rollinson 2005). More specifically, power has been considered as: the potential of a process to influence people (Hersey et al. 2001); a part of the influence process at the middle of leadership (Northouse 2004); and the rights that allow individuals to take decisions about specific matters (Rollinson 2005). The influence of leadership will change depending on types of power used by a leader over their followers (Mullins 1998). Therefore, leaders will be more effective when they know and understand the appropriate usage of power (Hersey et al. 2001). According to (Kavanaugh and Ninemeier 2001) an autocratic style is embedded in leaders who have authority for decision making without sharing it with their subordinates, while a democratic style implies that leaders share their a uthority of decision making with employees, and finally a laissez-faire style exists where leaders give their employees least authority over decision making. Transformational and Transactional Leadership Styles (Burns 1978) talked about leadership styles as transactional and transformational leadership, these styles are at the opposite ends of the same scale. He mentioned that transactional leadership is a way on interactions between leaders and followers in which something of value was exchanged, such as rewards for performance, however, transformational leadership occurring when leaders and followers interacted in such a way to achieve a high level of motivation in both the leader and the follower are in the same road. (Bass 1985) mentioned that the leader should involve in both transactional and transformational leadership behaviors. Transformational leadership is not an alternative for transactional leadership, but rather tends to add to its effectiveness (Bass 1997). Bass mentioned that the transactional leader as individual who worked within the organizational culture of the group to know and explain the duties and tasks of followers to achieve the targeted objectives and outcomes. These outcomes were achieved when the leader negotiate with followers (Bass 1985). In other words, transactional leaders explain to followers what is required of them and then negotiate with them to see if they understood the requirements, either the promise of reward for good performance or the threat of punishment for bad performance (Bass 1990). (Bass 1985,1990) identified four characteristics of transactional leaders: contingent reward: This means when the followers stick to the order and achieved the requirements set by the leader, then the leader give the followers a bonus or reward for their performance. Active management by exception: In which the leaders monitor and control mistakes of followers and take actions to correct it. Passive management by exception: In which the leader only intervenes in a followers work if the requirements are not met. Finally, laissez-faire leadership in which the leader avoids responsibility and decision-making when performance and goals are not met. Laissez-faire leadership can actually be considered a non-leadership factor as it represents the absence of leadership (Northouse 2001). Bass characterized transformational leaders as persons who encourage followers to do more than they originally expected to maximize their original level of confidence towards accomplishing desired outcomes. Transformational leadership occurs when a leader: increase the level of understanding about the importance and value of desired outcomes, expands the wants and needs of followers, and gets followers to exceed their own self-interest for the sake of the group (Bass 1985). (Bass 1990) identified four characteristics of transformational leaders: charisma in which the leader is able to provide followers with a mental picture, send out a logic mission, gain respect and trust, and inspire belief in followers, inspiration in which the leader provides examples and patterns for the follower through symbols and images, emotional appeals, and communicating high expectations, intellectual stimulation in which the leader stimulates followers to think in new ways, increase intelligence and wisdom, and encourage problem solving. Individualized consideration in which the leader provides a helpful and coaching environment such that each follower is treated as a valued individual. Relationship between Leadership Style and Leadership / Management Theory Some studies have mentioned the differences between management and leadership to the difference between transactional and transformational leadership. (Bennis and Nanus 1997) noted that management normally consists of a set of exchanges whereas the end result of leadership is empowerment, this results of exchange leads to a clear success of any individuals. From this standpoint, management can be viewed from tow perspectives; one is performed by transactional leaders while the other can be seen as those activities performed by transformational leaders. Management and leadership are different in functions, however, we cant separate management from leadership because we have an amount of overlap exists between the two. Any organizations need both effective management and leadership to reach the desired outcomes. The role of management can be compared to transactional leadership in which followers must meet the expectations of their leaders based on contracts and performance requirements. Under most situations, this may be an effective way. Influence of Demographics on Leadership Styles Numerous studies have been conducted in the field of leadership that has addressed the influence of selected demographic characteristics of individuals on their leadership style. Some studies have focused on the influence of the characteristics on the self-perceived leadership style of the individual, others have focused on the perceptions of followers related to an individuals leadership style and the influence of these characteristics, and still others have involved the perceptions of both the leaders and their followers. (Krishnan and Park 1998) noted that demographic characteristics do exert considerable influence on the leadership styles of top managers. (Hambrick and Mason 1984) proposed that demographic traits such as age, tenure in an organization, functional area background, educational background, and degree of formal management training are all important aspects of leadership that influence organizational success. Gender: Differences in leadership styles between men and women are one of the most well researched aspects of leadership. There are two major schools of thinking on gender differences and leadership, one that says there are distinct differences and the other that says there are no differences in the preferred leadership styles of men and women, several studies have been conducted to determine if male or female leaders are more transformational. (Eagly and Johnson 1990) found that women tend to use a more participative and comprehensive style while men tend to use a more order and controlling style. This result indicates that women use more transformational styles while men use more transactional styles. This conclusion is supported by other studies that found women more likely to use transformational leadership than men and that men were more likely to use transactional leadership as their primary style (Druskat 1994) ( Rosener 1990). Age: Several studies examining the relationship between age and leadership style have been conducted organizations other than Extension. (Vroom and Pahl 1971) Talked about the older and younger managers, the older managers tend to be more commitment than the younger managers, more careful about things and decision, not been acceptable of risks and challenges, otherwise, younger managers had less commitment and prefers to take risks on their actions. Tenure: Studies have been conducted that evaluate the relationship between an individuals leadership style and their tenure within an organization as well as their tenure in leadership positions. (Bantel and Jackson 1989) found that the more tenure of the top management team within the independent financial institutions they studied had; the more likely they were to resist innovation and organizational change. In real meaning, if managers had more tenure with in any organization, he tried to resist all Improvements can affects the whole company. Lebanese case The Role of Islamic Banking: Islamic banking was created to concern and develop on the communities that it serves. Islamic banking requires promoting the ideal of successful society and secure economy, based on the Islamic ideas of social equality, ethics and empathy. Islamic banking challenges the concept of disparity in offering banking services to people of various social standings and endeavor for social tuning between different classes. Yet, Islamic banking is a commercially applicable way of banking, which shows an alternative financial architecture on economic base. Evolution of Islamic Banking: Recent Islamic banking practices can be tracked hundreds of years back to the days of Prophet Mohamad. At that time, the Prophet performed as a mudarib or agent for his wife Khadiga who contingent him with a certain capital or goods for trade. Afterwards, the Prophet (PBUH) reimbursed the capital and the profit was shared between the two parties. Throughout the years, Muslim bankers and religious scholars struggled to devise financial instruments that integrate Islamic values with banking activities. Though profit was important, nevertheless, said instruments were needed to promote ethical and transparent financing, equitable distribution of wealth, and equity participation in the economy. In the late 50s, the first efforts to create an Islamic financing environment emerged in Pakistan. Nevertheless, modern Islamic banking first appeared, on a small scale, in Egypt early in the 60s. Following the oil boom in the 70s, Islamic banking flourished in the Arab world, and then spread out into the Middle East, Iran, and Southeast Asia. In the mid 70s, the worlds first full-fledged Islamic bank was established in UAE. Because of its ethical and moral principles, Islamic banking has gradually succeeded in achieving universal acceptance and attracted funds from both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Currently, more than 300 Islamic banks are present on the five continents of the world, operating in more than 60 different countries such as the UK, the US, France, Germany, Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Bahamas, Cyprus, Pakistan, India, and of course the Arab world. With an annual growth rate of 15% to 20%, Islamic banks assets exceeded $ 500 billion by end of 2007. Islamic banking is maintaining its impressive growth worldwide, yet at a faster pace than conventional banking, to become an actual globalization phenomenon. Islamic banking was introduced to the Lebanese market in the early 90s under a commercial banking license. All transactions strived to offer conventional banking products and services in compliance with Sharia based on two regulations. Fiduciary contracts law. Investment banking general directives. DATA COLLECTION The targeted area contains all managers who worked at Islamic banking; This study used one mechanism to collect data from one matched sampling frames in Islamic banking. Using leadership styles mechanism for managers. The leadership styles questionnaire was adapted from the leadership styles survey originally consisting of 18 statements This questionnaire is designed to measure three common styles of leadership: authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire, A five points scale was used in the instruments, where (1) equals strongly disagree, and (5) equals strongly agree. The questionnaires were handed over to the HR departments who in turn distributed 160 leadership styles questionnaires to the managers. From the respondents returned 110 out of 160, usable survey in this study was 110 questionnaires for data analysis. Also examine the Demographic characteristics of the participants on leader ship styles: One hundred and ten managers participated in this study. One hundred were males and the others were females. Most participants (n=78) were aged between 26- 35 years. The majority of participants (n=96) were degree holders. The highest number of participants (n=40) had 2-4 years of service. The majority of participants (62) were middle managers Analysis discussion Internal consistency tests were conducted on instrument. The results indicated an overall percentage of leadership styles. The details of these results are shown in Table: Internal consistency of the instrument % Autocratic style 36 Democratic style 63 Laissez -faire style 11 According to (White and Lippitt), democratic leader possesses low goals and means control, and utilizes high motivation of group procedures. Leadership style refers to a way of behavior used by managers and leaders across a wide range of managerial situations. These styles that are largely responsible for creating the organizational environment in which team members are expected to perform. Islamic Banking shows that the most effective leaders use a wide range of styles, adapting readily to the needs of particular situations and accurately choosing the right styles for the moment. I did find that a democratic leadership style was the most popular and successful of the three types. However, there was little suggestion with democratic leaders achieved that increases productivity or superior behavior among their members. I do caution with laissez-faire leaders to remain aware of the risk that require of structure can actually be troublemaking. In this study, managers showed different leadership styles preferences based on their demographic profiles (age, gender, and education), tenure and organizational position. This study showed that males, older managers, degree holders, experienced managers, and middle managers had a higher preference toward democratic leadership styles than other styles based on leadership styles questioner above. These findings are consistent with some previous findings such as those by Yousef (1998) who found that managers age, education, and experience had a relationship with their leadership style. Oshagbemi and Gill (2004) indicated differences among leadership styles based on hierarchal level. On the other hand, this study also disagrees with previous work such as Yousef (1998) who showed that managers gender and tenure did not have a relationship with their leadership style. Rad and Yarmohammadin (2006) found no link with demographic profiles other than experience. The current study, therefore, concludes that all leadership styles exist in Islamic banking, but that the democratic style was the prevalent leadership styles. Recommendations Conclusion As with any academic study, there are limitations that limit the generalizability of this study. The first limitation that must be considered is related to the nature of the Bank being studied. Because this study will be conducted within the Islamic Bank State Research, Education, which is a unique Bank in terms of its structure and function, the findings, will not be generalizable to other organizations. The study will even so contribute useful information and recommendations for researchers. Based upon the findings and conclusions of this study, the following recommendations were made: Understanding leadership style helps to classify strengths and weaknesses. You can be positive and more successful as a leader by strategically using strengths and focusing on weaker points. Leadership style defines standards and perspective, and being aware of it will support your communication with other followers. As the saying goes, knowledge is a strong weapon and power tool. You can give power to yourself and move forward in job or importance by increase this knowledge. In this study, gender had no effect on overall leadership styles, perceived proficiency in the leadership styles areas. Based on this finding, gender should not be a basis of discrimination when hiring Islamic bank leaders. The study found that there were also significant differences in leadership style due to managers demographic characteristics, and that the democratic leadership style was preferred among managers, I suggest that most successful leaders are able to adjust their behavior as circumstances dictate to effect positive outcomes. Finally, I recommend that Islamic bank leaders remain focused on addressing concerns within their control, such as implementing best practices, promoting , organized and unified team, determining specific roles and responsibilities for members, adhering to the agreed upon decision-making process, and regularly assessing fees.

Behind the Arch: The Truth about Drinking at Buena Vista University :: Journalism Alcohol Drinking College Essays

Behind the Arch: The Truth about Drinking at Buena Vista University Behind the Arch: The Truth about Drinking at Buena Vista University, is book with written stories and events relating to drinking on the campus of Buena Vista University (BVU). Behind the Arch is published by the English 300 class of 2001, including students Chris Allen, Alisa Dixson, Jennifer Durham, Shelley Katzer, Max Kenkel, Teri Kramer, Toby Malavong, and Courtney Weller. Many questions came up about the alcohol use among the BVU students and community. This book is a great source for BVU because it shows causes relating to its effects of drinking on and off campus. These students reflect on their past experiences and explain what incoming freshmen students may expect in a college setting. Also, upperclassmen share their experiences in this book explaining what to expect as the years pass. High school students always look forward to the college life and surroundings. Most cannot wait until they are free from their parents and free to do whatever they want. As incoming freshmen attend Buena Vista University, many are afraid of what to expect. Talking from my own personal experiences, college is coming easy to me so far. From talking with other students, life is tough for them. As I have talked to other students, the problem is not so much the school work, but it is the social life. Many are afraid of what to expect. Many feel drinking may solve their problems because it may help them associate with others easier. This is where the drinking problem on the BVU campus begins. Here at BVU, party nights usually fall on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights. This is because the local bars such as Puff’s and Malarky’s have specials on drinking. The biggest night most students talk about is nickel pitchers, which falls on Wednesday nights. If a student is of legal age of 21, they are able to purchase as many pitchers of beer for only five cents apiece. I think this is where most of the problems start. Many students drink even before they go to the bar, then when they get to the bar, they consume so much alcohol to get drunk. Most people know a nickel pitcher is a great deal, which is why a huge percent of students go party on Wednesday nights.

Canadian Business Cycles

Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically, the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across the World's longest unfortified border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care, and education, social services, and economic competitiveness, as well as responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. In addition, Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.Canada is a well-developed country that resembles the United States in its market oriented economic system. This system is characterized by the private ownership of resources and the use of markets and prices to coordinate and direct economic activity. It is an industrial society in the trillion-dollar class, and is currently The United States most important trading partne r. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban.The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with the US, which absorbs about three-fourths of Canadian exports each year. Canada is the US's largest foreign supplier of energy, including oil, gas, uranium, and electric power. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada enjoyed solid economic growth from 1993 through 2007.The proceeds from the global economic crisis, dropped into a sharp recession in the final months of 2008 and Ottawa posted its first fiscal deficit in 2009 after 12 years of surplus. Canada's major banks, however, emerged from the fin ancial crisis of 2008-09 among the strongest in the world, owing to the financial sector's tradition of conservative lending practices and strong capitalization. During 2010, Canada's economy grew only 3%, due to decreased global demand and a highly valued. The chart below shows a clear understanding of how the GDP rates were affected: †¢GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) 1. 335 trillion (2010 est. ) $1. 297 trillion (2009 est. ) †¢GDP (Official Exchange Rate) $1. 564 trillion (2010 est. ) †¢GDP (Real Growth Rate) 3% (2010 est. ) -2. 5% (2009 est. ) †¢GDP Per Capita (PPP) $39,600 (2010 est. ) †¢GDP Composition by Sector Agriculture: 2% Industry: 20% Services: 78% (2010 est. ) †¢Labor force 18. 59 million (2010 est. ) Inflation rates are the rate at which prices for goods and services increase and measures against the standard level of purchasing power of the dollar.The main source of measured data is through Consumer Price Index. The inflation rate in Canada was last reported at 3. 3 percent in March of 2011. Between 1915 and 2010, Canada’s Inflation Rate averaged 3. 26 percent. The highest rate of Inflation was reported in June of 1920 at 21. 60 percent, and the lowest was reported in June of 1921 at -17. 80 percent. The Public service is a term used to describe services that are provided by the Government to its citizens. They are generally provided through a public sector. These services are provided free of charge.In addition, public services are offered to protect the welfare of citizens and are available to everyone regardless of income. It is often associated with human rights. Also, through public service are public goods which are non-rival and non-excludable. This means that everyone may benefit simultaneously and no one may be denied access. Canada has public police forces that enforce laws, maintain safety and fight crime. The military branches in Canada consist of Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, and Canada Command which is homeland security.Canada is a member of the Nato Alliance and its military services are regulated by the 1950 National Defense Act and the 1968 Canadian Forces Reorganization Act. In 2005 public expenditures on education were estimated at 1. 1 percent of GDP. There are several government social programs such as family allowances, old-age security, universal health care and unemployment insurance, giving Canadians a high standard of living and desirable quality of life. Canada created a public school system in the 19th century and was established in all provinces except Quebec and Newfoundland. You can read also  Similarities and Conflicts in † a Streetcar Named Desire†In 2007 public expenditures on education were estimated at 4. 9 percent of GDP. They provide public transportation in the forms or subways, trains, streetcars and buses. Canada has a Public Health Agency that protects and improves the health of its citizens from illness and disease. Canada’s healthcare system provides coverage to all its citizens. This program is publicly funded and regulated by the federal government. All citizens are eligible for benefits regardless of medical history, existing conditions or income.They receive preventative care, medical treatments, dental care, access to hospitals and other medical services. Canada is also known to have the highest life expectancy and lowest infant mortality rate; it is said to be contributed to their healthcare system. The labor force is comprised of individuals who are above the age of sixteen, who are not institutionalized and inclu des both employed and unemployed. Canada performs a monthly Labor Force Survey which estimates the rate of employment and unemployment. The results allow aid in measuring the performance of its economy.The unemployment rate in Canada was last reported at 7. 6 percent in April of 2011, a rise by 58,000 from the previous two months. Between 1976 and 2010, Canada’s Unemployment Rate averaged 8. 53 percent. The highest rate of Unemployment was reported in December of 1982 at 13. 10 percent, and the lowest was reported in September of 2007 at 5. 90 percent. Over the past year, employment in the public sector has grown by 2. 8 percent. The Canadian business cycles mostly compares to the one of the United States of America.The Canadian and U. S economies are highly integrated and have an abundant correlation between the two. These two economies correspond with each other through strong trade and financial linkages. The United States accounts for over three quarters of Canadian expor ts, and are an important source of financing for Canadian firms. There are four stages of business cycles which are Expansion, Recession, Trough, and Recovery. The most relevant business cycle Canada is in right now is considered to be Expansion. Why Expansion?Some may say more of a recession, but the main reason is because Canada between 2003 and 2009 went through its trough. Now Canada is moving to its peak where business activity and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expands until it reaches its peak. Canadian business cycles are led through a series of shocks where situations in which events don’t meet expectations. One negative shock highly related to the United States playing a major role because Canada being a net exporter of commodities, in which they suffered from negative terms of trade and wealth effects as world commodity prices started to decline.The fall of U. S demand for tradable goods decreased the demand of Canadian Exports. As a consequence, the decline in the w orld commodity prices contributes to the fall in the Canadian businesses net worth, which creates additional pressure on Canadian Investment. This is a prime example of how the country went into a recession. On the other hand, Canada is now facing some positive results from their expansionary business cycle. Most recent statistics show that the domestic demand trade in billions of retail went up 3. 7 percent. The wholesale trade went up about 7 percent since last year.Another important factor of Canada expanding shows the Exports rising to about 7. 7 percent and imports up to about 9. 1 percent. These simple statistics exemplifies how the Country is progressing. Since the late 1980s until the year 2000, the Canadian Federal economic policy was influenced by two goals which were to eliminate the federal deficit and to reduce the total debt relative to economic output and to maintain the control over inflation. Of course they wanted to keep this expansionary fiscal policy alive but, w ith world economic situations recessions are sometimes expected.During the 2008-09 global recessions, Canada’s economy suffered a major decline in real GDP which fell by 5. 4 percent which was the largest drop since 1991. Now in January 2009, the Canadian federal government released its budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year titles Canada’s economic Action Plan. Still keeping its commitment for fiscal management as the key long term economic stability, there was a shift towards the expansionary fiscal policy and stimulus spending to try to stabilize the Canadian economy. Similar to the U.S stimulus package, Canada also got involved in a stimulus package which dealt with income tax reductions, and focused merely on the demand of the Canadian economy. Some contents of the package focused on the Canadian skills and transition strategy, which provided support to those who lost they jobs seeking new skills, training, and development. Another positive aspect of the package allow ed the government to provide 7. 8 billion in the form of tax credits and spending advantages to stimulate the housing market and construction.These are just a few examples of how the Canadian government temporarily tried and of course are still trying today to get the economy back on its feet. Of course, since Canada is now focusing its basis on the expansionary fiscal policy, government spending is at its high and taxation is at its low. How is the Canadian government affording all of this? Canada’s budget retains the federal government’s commitment to fiscal management and balanced budgets as a key aspect of the long term economic policy. Well of course the debt levels are very high at this point and of course a major risk is taken place.For example, in 2009-2010, TD bank reported as an estimate that Canada would hold about 170 billion in debt within that one year. But, it turned out to be that the government’s debt rose to about 463 billion. This shows that t he large spending to help could maybe hurt them in the long run, but they still have time to get out of it. The Bank of Canada is the Canadian central bank. This was created during the Great depression out of the Bank of Canada Act of 1934. The cause of the creation led to the country’s political climate at the time which was very poor.The bank of Canada is responsible for managing of government funds and the public debt as well as keeping inflation low and stable. Today, the Bank of Canada’s main monetary policy is to keep the inflation rates between 1% and 3% through its power on determining the interest rates paid on the borrowed money. The bank projects economic growth of 2. 9% in 2011, 2. 6% in 2012, and 2. 1% in 2013. If this hypothesis does work out, Canada will be expected to be running at full capacity in the year of 2014. The Bank carries out monetary policy by influencing short-term interest rates.It does this by raising and lowering the target for the overn ight rate. The overnight rate is the interest rate at which major financial institutions borrow and lend one-day or overnight funds among them; the Bank sets a target level for that rate. This target for the overnight rate is often referred to as the Bank's key interest rate or key policy rate. Changes in the target for the overnight rate influence other interest rates, such as those for consumer loans and mortgages. They can also affect the exchange rate of the Canadian dollar.In November 2000, the Bank introduced a system of eight fixed dates each year on which it announces whether or not it will change the key policy rate. Target for the overnight rate, recent data Date Target (%) Change (%) 12 April 20111. 00— 1 March 20111. 00— 18 January 20111. 00— 7 December 20101. 00— 19 October 20101. 00— 8 September 20101. 00+ 0. 25 20 July 20100. 75+ 0. 25 1 June 20100. 50+ 0. 25 Canada has been referred to as one of the strongest economies in the world. It prominent productions include the following: gold, silver, copper, nickel, lead, wood.In 1993, Canada signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and the United States. This agreement allows free trade and eliminated tariffs and fees between the three North American countries. Canada has a Canadian-Dollar exchange rate index (CERI) which is a weighted average of exchange rates for the Canadian dollar against the currencies of Canada’s main trading countries. The six major trading countries measured in the CERI are the U. S. dollar, the European Union euro, the Japanese yen, the U. K. pound, the Chinese Yuan, and the Mexican peso.The Canadian dollar is usually a little weaker than the U. S. dollar. The United States consumes 75 percent of Canada’s exports annually. Canada is the United States largest foreign supplier of energy. To conclude, Canada is very high in correlation with the United States. They follow the same business models and both countries respectfully feed off each other. Canada is known for its exports in commodities and if there are any issues globally, for instance a recession, Canada will decline. Currently, Canada is at its climbing point out of its recession and is currently pushing for expansion.Canada’s main focus at this point is to grow and maintain a strong and healthy society, especially in the monetary aspect. Works Cited Statistics Canada. â€Å"Economy inputs and outputs† March 2009. 5 May 2011 Canadian Business. â€Å"Outlook 2007: Canada, by Province. January 2007†. 5 May 2011< http://www. canadianbusiness. com/article/14236–outlook-2007-canada-by-province> Index Mundi. â€Å"Canada Public Debt† June 2010. 5 May 2011< http://www. indexmundi. com/canada/public_debt. html> IBTIMES. â€Å"Canada employment picks up steam in April†. April 2011. 5 May 2011< http://www. indexmundi. com/canada/public_debt. html>

Hardware Store Case Analysis Essay

A. Do you agree with Fred’s decision to conduct the training and use the third vendor? Using concepts from the chapter, explain your answer. When it comes to Fred’s decision making in reference to using a third party vendor for training purposes, I believe that Fred made the best decision possible. Now, Fred based his decision purely on the fact that it embodies a quotation contained customized meetings in adjacent to the sales force for better understanding of the training course, along with being economical. In addition, customized meetings are essential because it allows the sales force team to be able to ask any questions they might feel needs to be addressed. On the other hand, this kind of training allows the sales team to make better decisions based on the new training material provided, so conducting classes on a smaller (size) scale will foster a better learning environment and faster hands on approach on the job site. In accordance, training that provide reenactments of past experiences or future awareness training for client handling enables the trainees to get a full picture of any problems that might arise customer service wise. B. What else might Fred do before choosing a training package? Use information provided in Chapters 2, 3, and 4 to describe your approach. Make sure to provide enough detail to dem- onstrate your understanding of the key issues and approaches to determining how to proceed once a triggering event  has occurred. Another thing that Fred might do before choosing a training package is requesting for referrals from the company to support him in selecting the specific organization or look elsewhere. Fred’s decision-making involves time and money being spent. Therefore, in order for Fred to want to make this kind of investment, Fred should first contact the organizations already practicing this type of training program in order to gain their insight and if they were successful based on real life experiences. In conjunction, Fred needs to make sure that whatever organization he decides to hire to train all his employees, Fred must make sure that the other organizations objectives align with his company’s training objectives. Moving forward, the key to finding a great training partner is by identifying the training strategy through requirements theory for motivating the trainees. Fred, can use the requirement theory by allowing the training organizations to ask the prime questions, whi ch is what does Fred expect his employees to learn in the training? thus identifying the final objective of Fred. Furthermore, if the organization conducting the training meets Fred’s requirements, then they can measure his mission and encourage his employees to efficiently train in accordance to motivating them as well. Once, Fred carries out his plan on finding the best external training organization, the external organization would be more receptive to using good reinforcement for their training & development techniques. The trainees can then get accustomed to being rewarded with a positive reinforcement when they do something right. Therefore, Fred needs to adapt his organization to meet the training & development-learning environment once the training organization is done with their training contract. Fred needs to make any adjustments to his training in an effort to run his business as planned. In order for Fred to experience a successful training, Fred needs to focus on the primary objective, which is making sure his employees are retaining the training material, as well as influencing them in a positive manner. However, Fred needs to request a small demonstration of the entire procedure, because it will help Fred know first-hand if the training organization material is connecting with his employees, and identify if the training material is appropriate with Fred’s objectives. C. If training went ahead as indicated, how successful do you think it would be? Explain your answer using concepts from this chapter. In addition, if training went ahead as indicated, it would be prosperous giving the fact that the program will enable the employees to partake in personalizing their own training. Therefore, Fred needs to double check that the training organization are using methods that meet his organizations objectives in order for the training to be categorized as being efficient. In the beginning, if the training organizations trainers are aware and fully understand the final objective, the training will be effective. Another thing to note is that Fred needs to reaffirm that the training organization is currently offering the specific training required by Fred, and that they are using the right training methods, right motivators and are utilizing reinforcements according to Fred’s expectations. Thus, if Fred checks off his checklist, then there is no reason why his organization should not be effective on accomplishing his objective. After training, the employees will be better prepared at their jobs, and can be more efficient on training other workers, thus benefiting the organization. This training process will also make sure that their customer service is being handled on a timely manner, and with the upmost service. Therefore, ultimately this would benefit both the training organization and Fred’s organization because Fred was able to find the best training organization, which in turn makes his training run effectively.