Independent Trust: Assurance in Modern Development Essay

In these economically unstable times with deep collapses and shifts within the global business community, it is essential for a company to provide stable, reliable service to its clients in bilateral partnerships of trust. The nature of an independent trust company is one of total solidarity with its individual clients, resisting the temptation of common prevalent lapses of ethics within the business community. With firm and friendly partnerships in place, our company moves into the continually developing economic environment with assurance in the fact that new clients, situations, and communities can be well served by our team of professional experts who continually keep watch on the life generating business developments across the globe. The confidence and positive outlook of our staff lends well to the retaining and expanding of our client base, and in a pact of mutually beneficial investments and market gauges, our company consistently hits the mark in providing the highest level of intelligent excellence to each individual with whom we come into contact, our staff members and all the clients we serve. The environment where our company is based, with locations in Jersey and Geneva, lends to a beautifully positioned placement within Europe. The liberated nature of the core societies in which we work shores up the ability of our company to make wise and independent decisions while are uniquely tailored to the needs of our global clients. Individuals from the United Kingdom, Far East, Middle East, and Eastern Europe are well served by the strategic location of our offices, both in terms of the unique legal structures of Geneva and Jersey as well as the convenience of their global positioning and welcoming infrastructure. Our staff members are able to travel easily between our offices and to make trips across the world in order to best serve our clients. People are never â€Å"out of sight, out of mind†, rather our full devotion and energy is invested in our staff members and clients, with meetings, trips, and travel being the means in which we are able to make assured decisions in the mutually beneficial agreements with clients and businesses. In looking to the structure of our company, it is important to note that we have a very high level of qualified staff members, employing six chartered accountants and numerous ICSA and STEP qualified personnel. The top managers are very easily approachable and support the company workers with proactive and confident attitudes, aiming to keep the company driven in steady and positive directions. Benefits are arranged in a flat organizational structure, with all employees enjoying the extra perks of retirement and health investments, the choice to live and work in either of our two lovely office environments in Jersey or Geneva, having to the option to change jobs and immerse oneself in a new and exciting cultural environment, and to relax during business meeting and trips as well as personal leisure time, including dinner and drinks, and stimulating excursions to Sark, France, or the mountains of Switzerland. Everyone knows how important it is to enjoy the work environment, and encouraging the happiness of our employees and clients in essential to doing good business. While our staff and clients are nurtured by the care of our company, the level of expertise and the commitment to performance is what drives our constant impulse to provide the highest level of service to our business partners. A company always has to sustain performance in the present as well as keep an eye on the attainable goals for the future. With our recent purchase of another company which was heavily involved with charities in Africa, working with AIDS, children, and animal sanctuaries, we have now opened up to our Southern market and are strategically placed to conduct careful business in this developing economy which is ripe with potential. Catering to the unique needs of our clients and partnerships always involves a sense of ethics and wanting to provide not only business services, but also to provide a heartfelt level of care to the people we engage. More and more, it is understood that morality in the business and investment communities, in the modern day market, is vital to the health and sustainability of individual people, businesses, communities, and nations. Without a true and faithful grasp of the essential elements of conducting good business, a company with be sure to falter or collapse, a situation which has never been experienced by our company, even within these economically challenging times. With eyes on our current clients and partnerships, care being given to maintaining and developing relationships, and strategic plans being crafted for the implementation of our future in opening market possibilities, our company enjoys the satisfaction of knowing that we are catering to the real needs of our worldwide friends and stepping in to provide the real needs to the market demands. In adding to the idea of morality in business, it is important to highlight what we avoid, in order to also provide a clear image of the business we do conduct. There is never a time when it is alright for us to ignore or set aside a potential working relationship. In connecting with our clients, we don’t ever assume that we are in a particular power position or exude any sort of elitist arrogance. The over confidence and greed which is the demise of many businesses is consistently rejected by our staff team, and we never accepted outside commissions. The level of importance of each individual member of our company is horizontal. Although one person may have a more complicated task to perform at any given time, there is never a time when any person in our company believes that the other person is not absolutely and vitally essential to our well selected team. To us, each staff member, client, and business is a partner, each person and organization equally essential to the web of relationships in which we weave and network. By placing trust and positive regard in our well selected partners, we pulse energy into the ties which bind us and generate life not only in social or emotional terms, but also in business and economic terms. It would be a great honor and pleasure for our company to receive the award of Independent Trust Company of the Year. By taking note of our strength and resilience through very difficult economic times, the powerful friendliness of our company team, the devotion with which we serve our global partners, and the high level of ethics with which we infuse our company, we hope that you will see the value in naming us for this prestigious gift. The hard work and determination of our solid and caring team members would be nothing more than expanded and rejuvenated by the dedication of this award to our stable and well positioned independent trust company. In aiming high, resisting immoral business temptations, catering to the true needs of our staff members and clients, making informed business decisions, working for the sustainability and development of our company, and nurturing our personal and professional relationships, we are sure that the quality and performance of our company is justifiably notable and well deserving of nothing less than the highest honor and best regard.

A Discussion About Animals

There are lots of zoos all over the world. A zoo can be described as the collection of various animal species found in nature. People can know about animals by visiting zoos. Whether animals should be kept in zoos or not,different people have different ideas. Some people are in favor of keeping animals in zoos. However,others argue that keeping animals in zoos ignores animal rights. This essay will discuss the pros and cons of keeping animals in zoos. The main advantage of keeping animals in zoos is that they get saved from dangers of predators. By keeping animals in zoos ensures their safety.At the same time,animals would be kept away from disease if they were in zoos. Moreover,animals in zoos are provided with proper diet. In jungle life,sometimes many animals have difficulty finding foods. In zoos,zoo keepers supply animals with food at a certain time. The animals would have an increased life span because there are no predators and they will never starve for food. In addition,ther e are many interesting facilities in the zoo. Animals can use them for fun. Furthermore,keeping animals in zoos is convenient for entertainment of human beings.Zoos provide a way for people to take a closer look at animals and see how they behave. People visit zoos not only for entertainment but also for educational purposes. Many schools visit zoos to know more about endangered species and the way to conserve them. However,there are also some disadvantages of keeping animals in the zoo. Firstly,it can't be denied that some zoos misuse and violate the animal rights. The workers in some zoos treat animals in a cruel manner. Secondly,animals are kept in zoos for a long time ,they may lose their instinct ability to survive in the natural environment.Animals are equal to human beings. Nobody can suffer from depriving of liberty. In conclusion,we have no right to keep animals in zoos. In my opinion,it is wrong to keep animals in zoos. We should respect animal rights. Animals can survive in the natural environment by themselves. If human beings want to know more about animals,they can read books and search information on the Internet or watch TV instead of visiting zoos. Keeping animals in zoos is not the only way to conserve endangered species. We humans can do much more things to protect animals.

Economic Issues Simulation Paper

As a representative of Castor Insurance, the job is to maximize profit and minimize risk for the company. Healthcare is a high in demand good that the consumers of any job wants and needs to have. So it is very important to chose the right kind of healthcare for your employees. The two companeys in question Constructit and E-editors need to choose a well balanced health insurance plan that will work for there group of people. I am Jamie Ruth, I am the Vice President, Strategy and Financial Planning at Castor Collins. My duties include pricing plans and setting insurance premiums for our potential clients. Castor Collins was approached by two companies looking for employer insurance and both companies have a set rate their employees are able to pay for premiums since both groups will have to pay for his or her own insurance. The first company is Constructit that consist of 1,000 people and E-Editors that consist of 1,600 people. It is up to my team to come up with a plan the meets Constructit $4,000 max on premium and E-editors max of $4,500 premium. Our task is to keep revenue maximized and risk to a minimum by choosing one of our three plans, which are Castor Standard, Castor Enhanced and our customized plan called Castor Enhanced Minor to suit Constructit the company I have chosen. Demographics of Constructit Constructit consist of 550 men between the ages of 26 to 45 and 450 women between the ages of 26 to 42. At Constructit 32% of the workforce’s duties involve excessive physical activities. This can cause some health risk with these employees. Whereas 25% of the workforce’s duties involve modest physical activities and the remaining 43% of the workforce’s duties involve inactive activities. With the modest activity there is always a chance an injury could happen. The inactive employees mainly desk employee are not immune from injury either. Married employees consist of 60% of the workforce. The employees at Constructit are not all in perfect health. Out of 1000 employees 170 men and 210 women 38% of the workforce has no major health problems. With almost 10% of the workforce 55 men and 36 that are smokers. The majority of the workforce misses work due to injuries, respiratory system diseases, digestive disorders, migraine, and allergic conditions. Health Concerns In our investigation of the health demographics in Constructit we discovered the following health concerns. Almost half of the employees are obese, 198 men and 192 women which adds up to 39% of the workforce which in itself is a major concern. Obesity can cause High Cholesterol the second highest medical condition within this group meaning 19%, 101 men and 95 women. As well as high blood pressure is another cause of health concern with 88 men and 105 women, 19% of the workforce. We also discovered many suffer from an allergy which affects 92 men and 85 women 17% overall. Many of the employees suffer from migraines 16%, 75 men and 93 women. Although only 13% of the employees 78 men and 57 women Respiratory Diseases is still a cause of concern. The Last medical condition we discover was digestive disorders at 8% 52 men and 32 women. Now our task was to develop a plan and stay within our $4000 premium limit. Plans Here at Castor Collins we have two plans that could possibly fit the needs of Constructit. One is Castor Standard which does not cover preexisting medical conditions and the other is Castor Enhanced which does cover preexisting medical conditions. Helen one of my team members suggests we offer Constructit Castor Enhanced and eliminates a few services that have high utilization. Adam says or we could choose not to insure either group if our risk outweighs the profits. In our evaluation the risk, anticipated cost, and cost-effectiveness are different for both plans. We did not choose Castor Standard because for one it did not cover preexisting condition. The premium is within payment range enrollees can pay and our profits would be higher. The cost associated with Castor Collins providing services to Constructit does not include any copayment the enrollee has to pay. For example for inpatient hospital services for Standard the enrollee pays $114 where in Enhance they pay $144. For emergency physician or hospital care Standard is $310 where Enhances is $388. For outpatient services like physician visits the in Standard the enrollee would pay $56 and in the Enhanced he or she would pay $70. If the enrollee was to need outpatient surgery for standard he or she would pay $305 where with enhanced the cost is $381. Here is the expected utilization of services when Castor Standard or Castor Enhanced is provided to Constructit. On average utilization of the services in the population of color scheme are for the age group of 26 through 45. Inpatient hospital services are 3% for standard and 4% for enhanced with the annual average is 6% for standard and 8% for enhanced with the surgical benefits the same. For emergences the expected utilization is 6% and the annual average is the same for standard whereas for enhanced the expected utilization is still 6% however the annual average is 8% for inpatient services. In standard most of the expected utilization is anywhere from 3% to 10% whereas the annual average is 6% for standard. Outpatient services the expected utilization is anywhere from 3% to 10% and the average annually is 6%. For enhanced the expected utilization norm is 4 to 9% and with enhanced the norm is 6% for standard and enhanced is anywhere from 4 to 12%. Plan Choice For Constructit we decided to go with Castor Enhanced so we could modify it so we were able to stay within the $4000 premium prices range. Even though the copay to the enrollee is higher the benefits are revenue for us is higher. We were able to keep the premium below $4,000; the premium is $3,943 making our profit a $3. 94 million and only eliminated obesity treatment. To keep cost and risk low we decided not to include Obesity treatment. To include this service the premium would have exceeded what the enrollees would be able to pay. All other services are intact. Castor Collins earning is high and is adequate to cover the risk insuring Constructit. Services such as substances abuse treatment the expected utilization is low. Even with Castor Enhanced Minor covering preexisting medical conditions, the risk are low and the earnings could be high. Copays for services such as preventative services, diagnostic services, and chiropractic care are at 8% rate. Conclusion Our task was to evaluate the company’s demographics and develop an adequate health care plan that suits Constructit. With Castor Enhanced the premiums are below $4,000 which them enrollee can pay and still have comparable health coverage that cover preexisting medical conditions. Utilization annual average is mostly 8%. Copays are higher but the benefits are higher as well. This was a difficult task but I believe we did what was expected of us in supplying health coverage for Constructit.

History of African Americans Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of African Americans - Research Paper Example Jim Crow Law was the name given to anti black laws in USA. These laws were discriminatory and racist in nature clearly defining white superiority over African Americans. It was basically a racial caste system followed in southern states after American civil war, till mid of 1960s. It was a complete social system based on injustice, inequality, prejudice, race and hate against African Americans. The Jim Crow laws badly affected social, economic and moral fiber of African Americans society especially in southern states. The African Americans were treated inhumanly since they were not allowed to share churches, hospitals, buses, rail wagons, schools, housing and even burial places. American Government implemented these laws and Supreme Court supported the Government. Common beliefs spread by whites were that whites were made superior by God and African Americans are meant to serve them. Till this day racism against African Americans has affected this community since African Americans ar e unable to compete with whites as a community, although exceptions are there.Plessy V.Furgoson decision by Supreme Court in May 1896 set the stage for legitimization of anti black laws in southern states like Louisiana. The court supported the theme that â€Å"equal but separate† public facilities for African Americans and whites can be maintained within jurisdiction of states and racial segregation is not the violation of US constitution. Basis of case was traveling of African Americans and whites in the same wagons of railway. Implication of this decision has been a long term white-black segregation and more anti black legislations in USA. On the contrary US Supreme Court gave a decision in 1954 setting stage to eliminate anti black laws. The court decided that state laws which allow separate public schools for African Americans and whites are unconstitutional. Both decisions of court were historic in nature where first decision helped to establish racism while the second helped to abolish racism.Besides Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Malcolm X, Grace Towns Hamilton was a great black leader who struggled tirelessly for civil liberties in America. She was the first black woman elected to Georgia General Assembly (Georgiaencyclopedia.org 2004). She represented her district for 18 Years continuously in Atlanta. She was an African American woman born on 10th February 1907 and died in 1992.  

Video Analysis Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Video Analysis Paper - Essay Example The color and pomp in the video is eye catching, while the dancers in the video look beautiful as they dance to music made by a percussion band. The dance moves are consistent to the tempo of the music even though the skimpily dressed women are challenged by their high heels. The progression of the string instruments are played according to the beat tempo and excitement of the dancers. This genre of music is symbolic of youthfulness, sexuality and beauty as expressed in the costumes and props in the video. The camera works of the film direction is also consistent to the prevailing mood (Bakan 277). The carnival mood is considered chaotic and difficult to control but the film directors have been able execute the filming appropriately. The feeling and significant characteristic The feeling derived from watching this video is one that invokes happiness to the viewer. Samba music is the dominant genre in this video with a rich culture and a number of characteristics. The amount of excite ment in the genre is described as a musical explosion with several percussion instruments. The rhythms that come out of the music are created to match the instrumentation of the music. It is evident that the participants in the video seem to be competing against one another as they parade all the way through the streets of the city. The video reveals that the music genre is rhythmical and involves a lot of choreography that requires much attention to capture the best picture while filming. The amount of choreography involved in a Samba dance is one that requires utmost care especially when there are so many people involved in the film. The style of the genre indicates that the participants are used to the practices of the genre that has also resulted to an elaborate lifestyle (Mirror News 1). The film seems as though it was shot in a studio or ball room given the fact that there are minimal mistakes in the video. The amount of organization in the dances is elaborate even though the dances are performed in the streets. The relationship between videos and genre The relationship between this video and the genre as described in the textbook is that it is sensitive to the prevailing culture of the surrounding society. The carnival is a cultural event while Samba is provides the means for the participants to express themselves based on their cultures. This video provides a substantial illustration on the expectation of the participants during the event. This event is taken seriously because of the cultural significance associated to it. Samba music provides those who are involved with the opportunity to express their true feelings during such performances. The relationship between the Bhangra video and the genre is that it bridges the gap between its musical application and interactive inclusion of the audience. The music genre is also dominated with a combination of percussionist drums that indicates who and modern instrumentation. The video also illustrates that t here are a number of new modes of talking part in the performance (Mirror News 1). The modes involve understanding of the essential dance moves as illustrated in the video. The filming technique of the video is illustrative of the amount of professionalism employed to illustrate the best performance. There is also a substantial amount of good film direction that is essential for most film

Perfect Competition and Monopoly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Perfect Competition and Monopoly - Essay Example These structures leave one benefitted and other worsen off. Economist offer infer that perfect competition is the right way to progress in the long run as it bring efficiency in the market however; detailed discussion and comparison is essential to reach a conclusion. (Baumol & Blinder, 2011) They can be compared on the following four characteristics. No. of firms Monopoly is an industry which is comprised of a single firm who is undeniably the price maker with extensive control over the market. He is known to maximize profit through controlling output in the market. He will increase the output only if his marginal revenue is greater than its marginal cost, which will ultimately result in maximization of profits. Utility service providers are a perfect example of monopoly. In contrast, perfect competition is an industry comprised of large number of small firms, each with absolutely no control over price. They are the price takers and follow price set by the demand and supply principl es. For instance, soybeans market in California is an example of perfect competition as there are many buyers and sellers and price is set where demand and supply meets. Available Substitutes: A monopoly firm produces a unique product which has no close substitutes. Monopoly being the sole producer of the product can control the market and influence price through this characteristic. There is hardly any other company providing railway services then one in county. This gives the company a monopoly power as no close substitute is available. In contrast, a perfectly competitive industry produces identical products with limited or no differentiation in products. This industry has infinite number of substitutes which are readily available in the market. This characteristic does not allow perfectly competitive firms to charge higher than the market price. Resource Mobility: Monopoly structure contains strong barriers to entry which is the prime reason for monopolies to exist. . Adding up, there are four primary advantages that allow the monopoly firm to enjoy power and restrict the other firms to enter the market. These are economies of scale, economies of slope, cost complementary and patents. This restricts any other player to enter the market even if abnormal profits are on offer. Pharmaceutical firms pay large sum of money to buy patents which restricts other manufacturers to enter the market. In contrast, perfectly competitive firms have absolute freedom to enter or exit the industry. There are no barriers for them which does not all this structure to enjoy abnormal profits as companies enter to reap profits when they notice a probability of such a scenario. If this scenario occurs, then firms will enter the market to reap those profits which will shift the supply curve to right as shown in the graph below. The supply curve shifts from S0 to S1 which will reduce the market price from P0 to P1 that would eventually result in dipping profits. On the other hand, i f the firm in short run incurs losses, it will leave the industry and force the supply curve to left or upward from S0 to S2 , which will increase market price from P0 to P2 and hence; the firm that remain in industry will enjoy increased profits (Lambert M. Surhone, 2010). This fluctuation will remain until average cost of product is equal to market price. S1 S0 P MC S2 AC Pe Pe = MR = MC Information: In a monopoly, the information obtained by the company is

Critical Analysis of CIPD Survey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Critical Analysis of CIPD Survey - Essay Example The effectiveness of business research, as also of the research related to other sectors, is depended on certain criteria. The validity of data employed is critical in order to decide whether a business research project is credible or not.. In addition the methods used for data analysis need to be reviewed and evaluated. In any case, the ability of a research project to meet the targets set by the researchers has to be checked. In current paper reference is made to a particular research project: the ‘Annual Survey Report 2012 - Resourcing and Talent Planning’ of CIPD. Particular emphasis is given on two specific aspects of the above research project: a) its statistical analysis and sampling and b) its ability to explain clearly the impact of social/ economic change on resourcing and talent management. In terms of the first of the above issues, the particular project can be characterized as successful; still, certain improvements would be possible so that the level of qua lity of the project is further increased. As of its scope, the project has managed to respond to the vision of its designers, showing clearly the interaction between the social/ economic change and the talent management/ resourcing. Literature related to the specific subject has been used for critically exploring the issues highlighted above. Part 1 – Analysis case, sampling Before explaining the appropriateness of statistical analysis and sampling methods used in the particular research project it would be necessary to present the key characteristics of this project, as of the above two elements. The survey has been based on the responses of 522 organizations operating in different sectors across UK (case study, p.34). In fact, organizations in ‘the private, public and voluntary sectors in UK’ (case study, p.34) have been asked to state their view in regard to the 42 questions included in the survey’s questionnaire (case study, p.34). Particular emphasis has been also based on the size of companies involved. As explained in the case study, 6 different categories of firms have been addressed in the context of the particular survey. These categories are presented in Table 1 below. Table 1 – Types of firms used in the survey based on the number of their employees (Source: case study, p.36) The above table indicates an important characteristic of the particular research project, as differentiated from the organization’s similar research project of 2011. For its survey of 2012 CIPD has focused on medium size firms and not on small firms, as in 2011. Indeed, in the organization’s survey for 2012 emphasis has been given on firms with 1,000-4,999 employees instead of firms with 10-49 and 50-249 employees. The above differentiation is expected to influence, even slightly, the findings of the research at the level that employees in medium size firms have to face different organizational conditions. Also, the needs and HRM practices of medium firms have to be different, at least at certain points, from those of the small firms. More specifically, the operation of small firms is based on families, meaning that each small firm is usually administered by a single family so that the control over the firm is secured. Another characteristic of the firm’s sampling method is the choice of organizations operating in different areas of UK (Table 2 below). Efforts have been also made so that organizations from different industrial sectors are employed in the study, as indicated in the Table presented in page 35 of the case study. These practices show the efforts of the researchers to guarantee the credibility of findings, as indicators of the resourcing and talent management practices held across UK. The quality and the effectiveness of sampling in the particular research project are analyzed below using appropriate literature. Table 2 –

Pro and Con Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pro and Con - Essay Example Eventually, this contributed to the health of the USA’s economy. It is vital to note that the author critiqued the lack of flexibility of the reform act as regards the control of immigration. The second article argues that illegal immigrants should not attain legal status in particular countries. He states that USA can attain lessons from Europe in terms of granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. Paul Belien, the author, argues that several European countries accorded legal status to illegal immigrants in the 2000’s. Countries, such as Italy and France, opened the floodgates for more immigrants that became unmanageable. This is because many undiscovered immigrants showed up for certification. In the analysis of Hinojosa article, it is vital that he provides three perspectives to the same. The first two arguments props the authors’ view of providing legal status to immigrants. The third article highlights the loophole of the IRCA act of 1987. The first argument highlights that legalized immigrants progress more economically. It is vital to note that the paper provided statistics, from the labor department, to prop this position. The hourly wages of legal immigrants had at increased at an average rate of 15.1 percent from 1987 to 1992 (Hinojosa-Ojeda 2). In the same period, the female immigrants had improved their wages at a rate of 20.5 percent. On the other hand, there had been an increase of 13.2 percent. These statistics correlated with the fact that a percentage of 38, of Mexican men, had adjusted to better-paying occupations. The paper argues that this translates to economic progress because the immigrants possess better bargaining powers (Belien 22). However, it only stresses on the economic benefits such as businesses, income and houses. This contributes to overall economic progress in terms of tax revenues for the government. It is crucial to note that the paper is comprehensive in noting that the IRCA act did not provide policies for managing

Civil Procedures Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Civil Procedures - Thesis Example 22). See the Appendix for a summary of the different parts of FRCP. The American legal system used to be a part of the British Empire in North America, which was loosely organized in the terms of national coherence simply because of the colonial rule. After independence, the lack of coherence in the legal system of the country became more conspicuous. The different district courts and regional bodies spread across the United States had formulated their own procedural systems that varied widely from one court to another. According to Wright and Miller (2002), the Process Act of 1792 was one of the first important and concrete attempts to bring about a uniform civil procedural paradigm throughout the federation. With the expansion of the United States throughout the early 19th century, legal issues surfaced time and again regarding the member states that were joining the initial thirteen colonies. US Congress took effective measures to overcome this problem and avoid confusions due to simultaneous application of both the common and civil laws. By the Tariff Act of 1828, US Congress provided a roadmap for the different states to follow a standard civil procedural system (Wright and Miller, 2002). However, debate and lack of legal coordination at the federal level continued. Major political and military developments during the Civil War and the World War I necessitated a federally recognized legal system all across the United States so that the union could be strengthened and harmonized. Finally in 1935, the Federal Supreme Court compiled the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) that became the backbone of the bijuridical legal framework of the United States (Spencer, 2010; Wright and Miller, 2002). Despite the successful implementation of FRCP, each state in the United States has considerable autonomy regarding the

Role of Parliament in Germany Essay Example for Free

Role of Parliament in Germany Essay This article is about the current parliament of Germany. For the governing body of the Germany. Confederation from 1815 to 1866, see Bundesversammlung (German Confederation). Confederation from 1815 to 1866, see Bundesversammlung (German Confederation). The Bundestag (Federal Diet; pronounced [ˈbÊŠndÉ™staË k]) is a legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag was established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier Reichstag. It meets in the Reichstag Building in Berlin. Norbert Lammert is the current President of the Bundestag. With the new constitution of 1949, the Bundestag was established as the new (West) German parliament. Because West Berlin was not officially under the jurisdiction of the Constitution and because of the Cold War, the Bundestag met in Bonn in several different buildings, including (provisionally) a former water works facility. In addition, owing to the citys legal status, citizens of West Berlin were unable to vote in elections to the Bundestag, and were instead represented by 20 non-voting delegates, indirectly elected by the citys House of Representatives. The Bundeshaus in Bonn is the former Parliament Building of Germany. The sessions of the German Bundestag were held there from 1949 until its move to Berlin in 1999. Today it houses the International Congress Centre Bundeshaus Bonn and in the north areas the branch office of the Bundesrat (upper house). The southern areas became part of German offices for the United Nations in 2008. The former Reichstag building housed a history exhibition (Fragen an die deutsche Geschichte) and served occasionally as a conference center. The Reichstag building was also occasionally used as a venue for sittings of the Bundestag and its committees and the Bundesversammlung, the body which elects the German Federal President. However the Soviets harshly protested against the use of the Reichstag building by institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany and tried to disturb the sittings by flying supersonic jets close to the building. Since 1999, the German parliament has again assembled in Berlin in its original Reichstag building, which dates from the 1890s and underwent a significant renovation under the lead of British architect Sir Norman Foster. Parliamentary committees and subcommittees, public hearings and faction meetings take place in three auxiliary buildings, which surround the Reichstag building: the Jakob-Kaiser-Haus, Paul-Là ¶be-Haus and Marie-Elisabeth-Là ¼ders-Haus. Together with the Bundesrat, the Bundestag is the legislative branch of the German political system. Although most legislation is initiated by the executive branch, the Bundestag considers the legislative function its most important responsibility, concentrating much of its energy on assessing and amending the governments legislative program. The committees (see below) play a prominent role in this process. Plenary sessions provide a forum for members to engage in public debate on legislative issues before them, but they tend to be well attended only when significant legislation is being considered. The Bundestag members are the only federal officials directly elected by the public; the Bundestag in turn elects the Chancellor and, in addition, exercises oversight of the executive branch on issues of both substantive policy and routine administration. This check on executive power can be employed through binding legislation, public debates on government policy, investigations, and direct questioning of the chancellor or cabinet officials. For example, the Bundestag can conduct a question hour (Fragestunde), in which a government representative responds to a previously submitted written question from a member. Members can ask related questions during the question hour. The questions can concern anything from a major policy issue to a specific constituents problem. Use of the question hour has increased markedly over the past forty years, with more than 20,000 questions being posed during the 1987-90 term. Understandably, the opposition parties are active in exercising the parliame ntary right to scrutinize government actions. One striking difference when comparing the Bundestag with the British Parliament is the lack of time spent on serving constituents in Germany. This is in part due to Germanys electoral system. A practical constraint on the expansion of constituent service is the limited personal staff of Bundestag deputies. Despite these constraints especially those deputies that are elected directly normally try to keep close contact with their constituents and to help them with their problems, particularly when they are related to federal policies or agencies. Constituent service does also take place in the form of the Petition Committee. In 2004, the Petition Committee received over 18,000 complaints from citizens and was able to negotiate a mutually satisfactory solution to more than half of them. In 2005, as a pilot of the potential of internet petitions, a version of e-Petitioner was produced for the Bundestag. This was a collaborative project involving The Scottish Parliament, International Teledemocracy Centre and the Bundestag ‘Online Services Department’. The system was formally launched on 1 September 2005, and in 2008 the Bundestag moved to a new system based on its evaluation.[1] ELECTION : Members serve four-year terms; elections are held every four years, or earlier in the relatively rare case that the Bundestag is dissolved prematurely by the president. The Bundestag can be dissolved by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor if the latter has lost a vote of confidence in the Bundestag. This has happened three times: 1972 under Chancellor Willy Brandt, 1983 under Chancellor Helmut Kohl and 2005 under Chancellor Gerhard Schrà ¶der. All candidates must be at least eighteen years old; there are no term limits. The election uses the MMP electoral system. In addition, the Bundestag has a minimum threshold of either 5% of the national party vote or three (directly elected) constituency representatives for a party to gain additional representation through the system of proportional representation. Thus, small minority parties cannot easily enter the Bundestag and prevent the formation of stable majority governments as they could under the Weimar constitution. Since 1961, only two new parties (Bà ¼ndnis 90/Die Grà ¼nen and PDS/Die Linke) have entered the Bundestag. The most recent election, the German federal election, 2009, was held on September 27, 2009.[2] Distribution of seats in the Bundestag Half of the Members of the Bundestag are elected directly from 299 constituencies (first-past-the-post system), the other half are elected from the parties’ Land lists in such a way as to achieve proportional representation for the total Bundestag (if possible). Accordingly, each voter has two votes in the elections to the Bundestag. The first vote, allowing voters to elect their local representatives to the Bundestag, decides which candidates are sent to Parliament from the constituencies. The second vote is cast for a party list; it determines the relative strengths of the parties represented in the Bundestag. At least 598 Members of the Bundestag are elected in this way. Parties that gain more than 5% of the second votes or win at least 3 direct mandates are allocated seats in the Bundestag in proportion to the number of votes it has received (dHondt method until 1987, largest remainder method until the 2005 election, now Sainte-Laguà « method). When the total number of mandates gained by a party has been determined, they are distributed between the Land lists. The distribution of the seats of that party to the 16 Lands is proportional to that partys second vote results in the Lands. The first of the mandates allocated to each Land go to the candidates who have won direct mandates in that Land. The rest are assigned in order to the candidates on the Land list put forward before the election. In addition to this, there are certain circumstances in which some candidates win what are known as overhang seats when the seats are being distributed. If a party has gained more direct mandates in a Land than it is entitled to according to the results of the second vote, it does not forfeit these mandates because all directly elected candidates are guaranteed a seat in the Bundestag. ORGANISATIONS : Parliamentary groups The most important organisational structures within the Bundestag are parliamentary groups (Fraktionen; sing. Fraktion), which are formed by political parties represented in the chamber which incorporate more than 5% of the Bundestag legislators; CDU and CSU have always formed a single united Fraktion. The size of a partys Fraktion determines the extent of its representation on legislative committees, the time slots allotted for speaking, the number of committee chairs it can hold, and its representation in executive bodies of the Bundestag. The Fraktionen, not the members, receive the bulk of government funding for legislative and administrative activities. The Bundestags executive bodies include the Council of Elders and the Presidium. The council consists of the Bundestag leadership, together with the most senior representatives of each fraktion, with the number of these representatives tied to the strength of the Parliamentary groups in the chamber. The council is the coordination hub, determining the daily legislative agenda and assigning committee chairpersons based on Parliamentary group representation. The council also serves as an important forum for interparty negotiations on specific legislation and procedural issues. The Presidium is responsible for the routine administration of the Bundestag, including its clerical and research activities. It consists of the chambers president (usually elected from the largest fraktion) and vice presidents (one from each fraktion).

Skills and Competencies of IT Manager

Skills and Competencies of IT Manager Task 1: Be able to take responsibility for own personal and professional development 1.1 Reflect on own current skills and competencies as IT manager against professional standards set by BCS such as SFIA plus or personal and professional development plan or similar and how you contribute towards as an individual employee of Aldi to meet their organizational objectives During the meeting I discussed different ways to evaluate different standard skills. The employees should be reviewed each month by their superiors as per the company guidelines to focus on the improvement and fulfilling target set. The professional ability standards can be used to judge the skills and achievement of an individual along with the areas of improvement to meet professional standard. A monthly appraisal cycle in written can be the best way to record the work done. Someone’s working skills ability can be set as an appropriate standard in professional and organizational. 1.2 Evaluate own development needs as an IT manager at Aldi and the activities required to meet them It is helpful to keep a record of learning to judge one’s own development. It can be recorded in the personal diary for past review to make future action plans. This process helps everyone to self analyze their strength and weakness. A self analysis is the best way to know your own positive and negative side. Proper interaction with your superiors can help you to develop your weak areas by seeking their advice. The Aldi Company’s various level standards can be referred to form an idea to develop skills. The negative side can be focused and improved from the suggestions provided by training manager. Task 2: Be able to demonstrate acquired interpersonal and transferable skills 2.1 Communicate in a variety of styles such as verbal and non-verbal, openness and responsiveness and appropriate manner such as personal effectiveness, various levels such as form a working with others at l feedback to and from colleagues and informal at Aldi. Presently there are various methods in the workplace for communication. The very first is written communication which can be presented on a paper and can be stored for future reference. E-mail and fax are digital communications. It is generally used by Aldi company for better communication in work areas. The stored documents which are deleted in error can be used as testimonials. The second one is oral communication, it can be face to face or by telephone and now in it market Skype is famous. It is usually used everywhere mostly in stock exchange where everyone can listen. Meetings are an opportunity to communicate face to face and it provides an better understanding to your superiors and colleagues. Any information given over phone can be misleading depending upon the people who is answering the phone and also upon the telephone network. At workplace telephonic conference with head office or central office can save time and money of Aldi Company. Third one is information technology like e-mails, internet memos, and fax. It is quick, cheaper and best way to share information within company. 2.2 Demonstrate effective time management strategies such as adopted prioritizing workloads; setting work objectives; using time effectively; making and keeping appointments and reliable estimates of task time by it manager role in Aldi. Time keeping is the top most elements for successful companies duly executed by an efficient employee. Time management depends upon the following factors as under: Individual behavior and character Balance in personal and professional work life Companies approach towards individual Time saving and accuracy by using information technology Time management personnel should prepare priority based work plans. Individual should be aware about the effect of wasting time shall result in decrease in productivity which in turn affect the revenue of the Aldi company and their job security also. Employee should prepare a checklist including all works and regular updating the same after completion of every work. Effective time setting as per the work may result in increased productivity with accuracy. 2.3 Devise a personal and professional development plan includes such as current performance, future needs, SWOT based on identified needs as it manager. Proper interaction with the superiors shall give the individual an opportunity to identify the difficulties. The individuals can request for training to overcome from these difficulties through this process. Employees should be enrolled based on their required courses. An individual can derive an action plan to prove management the benefit of the course and also the way to achieve the needs. The goals should be in action plan including the time frame along with steps to be taken care to achieve the target set. Identifying the needs a plan should be brought into action to handle those objects. It is must to mention both the personal and professional improvement as because success in one leads to success in others. The objective set must include individual needs and the time frame for achievement. Every target has some certain process to meet the target set in a timely manner. Lack of knowledge can be given importance before the frequent development can be ensured. A proper discussion with your colleagues and superiors can resolve the same. It includes flexibility on timely reported progress. 2.4 Reflects on own development as an it manager at Aldi against original aims and objectives set in your personal and professional development plan The learner can review their performance after their training sessions to judge the benefits of learning by self or by the help of tutor. The areas of improvement should be discussed during the review and change in the plan set shall be focused by the learner. A proper test can be conducted to establish the learning of the candidates. The progress needs to be compared with the target set in the action plan. Proper scale should be derived with the learning’s to view the gaps if any remains. Based on the learning it is necessary to identify and adjust those areas which are still in need to be concerted on. The adjusted plan contains the way of achievement and time frame also. The action plan must be observed on regular interval to see the improvement. Planning and reviewing is a continuous lifetime process which help to judge the own capacity and develop self consciousness. Task 3: Understand the dynamics of working with others 3.1 Analyze team dynamics such as informal and formal settings; discussing the roles people play in a team specialist roles, such as skill and style/approach mixes and how they can work together such as team building, identity, loyalty and commitment to shared beliefs to achieve shared goals in Aldi Every employee depends upon someone to perform his or her work perfectly. Other employees have also similar work knowledge and willing to work on your position. This is not necessary to demand for your work. You and your family members depend upon the salary provided by the Aldi Company against your working. This should always be in your mind to restrict your behaviours not only to save your job but also for your job satisfaction. This is required in each and every level of work where you should work as a team to be productive. You should always depend upon the working team to achieve the target set. You should always be ready to help your working team from your work contribution to meet the target. There are some situations where you shall have to work without any team members to share your work. This situation usually arises at the top level, which forms part of a working team. Working as successful teams help the company to meet their target set. Together with a team, an employee can be much more productive as in the Aldi Company. 3.2 Discusses alternative ways to complete tasks such as setting standards, motivating, innovative and responsive and achieve team goals in Aldi For better result team work is more important in a company, where everybody is responsible for a company success. The swot analysis is derived to maximize the productivity and achievement of the set target. Effort of every individual is accounted in the team work. Members involved in team need to combine their efforts to achieve the company goals. This has to be recognized by the top management and acknowledge that great things can happen with the team work. Every employee is unique and should be recognized and appreciated individually. Responsiveness Good teams are very much responsive and flexible to opportunities and client requirement. Responsive teams can easily deals with any unknown situation. responsiveness is encouraged by: Developing plans as per the prevailing situation Issues to be communicated very clear Developing hindrance and issue resolution process Innovation Better team work results in more innovation Teams should have quality standard, time frame and creative innovation to improve processes. Experience and ideas of seniors within any team should be taken which doing team work. Every employee should be free to provide his innovative ideas and be introduced to the brainstorming sessions. Team work identifies that every members have different strength and knowledge. If the top management judge the individual’s skill, then appropriate job allocation can be done based on the individual knowledge results in timely completion of goals. Task 4: Be able to develop strategies for problem solving 4.1 Review tools and methods such as timescale, stages, resources and critical path analysis for developing solutions to problems in the selected organization One presentation is requested by the hr manager of Aldi Company on various problems. In this presentation one document will be handed over the audience i.e. quiz. The quiz will contain ten questions with work based problems. Candidates need to answer by selecting one of the four available alternatives. The candidates need to answer the quiz with their best solution. The candidates who will answer maximum will be rewarded with a prize. One example of the quiz is , if an employee has a dinner conference at a graduate bureau suddenly an emergency meeting arranged with the superior. For this four options will be available. After marking the correct answers learners can discuss the answer. They get an opportunity to deal with the different situations in an interactive way. 4.2 Develop an appropriate strategy for resolving a particular problem such as duplication of records in hr department in Aldi Good analyzer uses different techniques and tricks to solve problems. Before using it analyzer needs to remember as below: Take time to reach to solutions Don’t make it fast to decide Don’t give up Be flexible to each and every character Try it to the extent To reach the solution one should follow the following steps: Observation of the problem Try to understand the base of problems Don’t use the extra details available Make a plan Go through the plan with care Check your attempts carefully If solution does come then try another option The best way to solve the problems is to draw a diagram and go through the same. Just take one example of how many diagonals a heptagon has. To overcome this you should draw a heptagon along with the diagonals. If it does not work then go for the trial and error strategy which everybody uses as a problem solving strategy. In this you will try one answer if the same is not appropriate you can try another. And will stop after finding the correct answer. This is good when few answers are available. 4.3 Evaluate the potential impact on the business measurement of solution against specification and desired outcomes implementing the strategy such as built a new hr system in Aldi. Implementation includes proper planning and preparation. You should know that what situation is going to arise if first step is taken. Planning always depends upon the action plan followed by the problem. Action plan consists: Who will do that When and how to do that In size planning depends upon the size of projects. If you need to implement any new thing, needs good support from top management otherwise implementation can get collapsed. During the planning and researching stage you need to convince everyone that your solution is the best and it will work within the set frame. During this support will arise and based on inputs given by others make changes. After making necessary changes your adjusted plan will be ready to make others convincing for your support. A proper monitoring is required to judge your proposed plan. Are the people now available who were allocated to the tasks (Illness or holidays could prevent this)? Is the funds liquid/ready to be used? Are there any other complications that could interfere with the implementation? What alternatives could be applied? Did the first stage of the implementation go according to plan? If not, which immediate corrective action can be taken? What does such action involve? Is this all readily available? Are decision makers willing and able to allocate these resources? References Bandura. A (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman. Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A.D. Wolvin, D.R. 2010:9-12. Communicating. 11th edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Golding, L. Gray, I. (2006).Continuing professional development for clinical psychologists: A practical handbook. The British Psychological Society. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Jasper, M. (2006).Professional development, reflection, and decision-making. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Levi, D (2010) Group Dynamics for Teams, Business and Economics; Sage Publishers Murphy-Latta, T (2008). A Comparative Study of Professional Development Utilizing the Missouri Commissioners Award of Excellence and Indicators of Student Achievement. ProQuest. p. 19. Speck, M. Knipe, C. (2005) Why cant we get it right? Designing high-quality professional development for standards-based schools (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press. Whetten, D.A. and Camerom, K.S. (2005), Developing Management Skills, New Jersey.