Portfolio management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Portfolio management - Essay Example It is due to the effective fiscal policy that it has been included among countries that are yielding increased business practices in the shortest span. Most recently, the Qatari economic policymakers have served their vision in bringing foreign investment at home because they aim to expand their technological and engineering practices as well. On comparison, the picture of effective economic boom in Qatar was unexpected in 2009. It was merely because there were increased cut in the prices of oil. Therefore, it was difficult for Qatari lawmakers to come up with policies that would have resulted in increase exchange rates. However, in 2014, there are more than 46 technological and engineering projects that are expected to be completed within next 10 years (Books LLC). As per the statistical reporting, it has been noted that Qatar is considerably the 30th freest economy in the index of 2014. In particular, the economic score of Qatar is marked 71.2. This measure of economic freedom is not just limited to labor freedom but monetary freedom as well. Overall growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) of Qatari economy is noted to be more than 6.8% in 2013. In other words, it can be said that the difference noted in the GDP of Qatari economy was marked to be 8%. As per the policymakers, the increase in the GDP was possible because of change in natural gas and oil that allowed the country to make effective use of its reserve (International Business Publications). Talking about the inflation rate of the country, it was expected that the country’s inflation rate would increase up to 3.6% where it was marked less than 2% in 2012. As per economic analysis of 2013, it was noted that the inflation rate would remain stagnant. Herein, it is imperative to note that increase in the rate of inflation is supposedly affecting the consumer prices. As noted above, the major contributor of the economic development of Qatar is

Transformational Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Transformational Leadership - Essay Example According to the study  transformational leadership style is the kind of a leader the author ams. This is a kind of leadership style that believes in building relationships as well as motivating his fellow collogues at work. The motivation works well because they have a vision and mission that we all want to achieve together as a team. Naturally, the reporter is charismatic; he believes that communication is the basis of every relationship that works well. Most of the times he works confidently so that he can inspire his staff, command respect from them in addition to loyalty.  From this paper it is clear that  one vivid memory of a time the author was able to implement transformational leadership style is when the hospital had inadequate equipment. Such a situation hinders a conducive working environment for nurses. He wrote to the board of the hospital on the issue and ensured that the equipment was purchased.  His staffs were very happy and were able to perform well at wor k. There was also a time when they had an emergency case, and they had more than thirty patients being brought to the hospital. The author was able to coordinate the situation beforehand by assigning each and every nurse their role. It was a difficult job, but they managed thanks to his loyal team who gave their best shot.  As a student nurse, the author worked under the strict supervision of a nurse who was an authoritarian. He always dreaded the days he made a mistake or any of other students for that matter.

Features of Intercultural Communication

Features of Intercultural Communication Intercultural communication is about how people from different cultures communicate. It is a face to face communication between people from different cultures and backgrounds (Lewis, Slade 2000). In University, the mixing of different cultures is a good example of intercultural communications. Every day, we learn different things about different cultures. This is important as it allows the world to grow and become closer allowing countries to have relations with each other and to learn and respect the different beliefs of other cultures. There will be problems faced along the way to achieving these goals nevertheless there are always ways to overcome these problems. Problems such as language barriers, traditionalbeliefs , Gender with regards religion are the main issues which present difficulties towards learning about different cultures. One of the problems that can affect the movement of intercultural communications is traditional beliefs. For example, Koreans traditionally as a sign of acknowledgement and respect, greet one another with a bow. If a westerner goes to Korea and greets a Korean with a wave, it may be disrespectful towards the Korean. This can be overcome by education and the acceptance of multiculturalism within each country. A country cannot expand if it does not except multiculturalism. Storey Douglas said in his article that international communications including the flow of popular culture and news, as well as educational, economic, and professional exchange, are shown to have profound influences on how people develop images of other nations and how perceptions and misperceptions affect interaction at the national level (Douglas 1988). Language is the key to a person’s self-identity. It enables the person to express emotions,  share feelings, tell stories, and convey complex messages and knowledge. Language is our  greatest mediator that allows us to relate and understand each other (Imberti, 2007). It can be defined as a system of conceptual symbols that allows us to communicate. It also provides us with a significant frame of reference and a relational context that sustains our identities (Imberti, 2007). An example of how language can be a barrier towards intercultural communication is when a Chinese man is unable to communicate to a Western man because of his lack of knowledge of the English language vice versa. Aki Uchida mentioned in her article about understanding the need to learn English, she saw it as an important means of relating to people of different cultures and constructing shared knowledge and understanding (Uchida 1997). Understanding the need to learn another language is important for overcoming the language barrier to enable communications between cultures helping us relate to different cultures and sharing our knowledge and understanding of our cultures to them. Some cultures believe that women are inferior to men. It is a barrier preventing us to achieve intercultural communication. For example if a successful Australian woman goes to the middle east where women are permitted to work and their job were to simply stay at home and look after the kids, Middle eastern men may find that very intimidating and offensive therefore avoiding any form of communication with the Australian woman. Aki Uchida suggested in her article that emphasizing the possibility that the beliefs and practices that constitute gender are salient cultural resources and attributes that participants may reject, accept, or integrate in the course of cultural building (Uchida 1997). To build obtain intercultural communications; people have to learn to accept and respect their dogmata of another culture for communication to transpire. In respects to the example I gave, Middle eastern men should accept and respect the culture of Australian society and not be afraid to approach the Australian woman with respect and benevolence. Like-wise the Australian woman should realize their culture and be more respectful towards the men not in an inferior way but a restrained manner (not coming across as too aggressive). These are ways that we can form bridges to further improve our drive towards obtaining intercultural communication with different cultures. However there are still people in the world who are ethnocentric. Ethnocentric is having the idea that your particular belief or culture is better than other cultures and beliefs. Having this mind set will only set us back in hopes of obtaining multiculturalism and cross cultural communication. Ethnocentrism is divided into three stages, denial, defence and minimization are the three ways to define an ethnocentric person (Chu 2014). The person is in denial which means he or she is completely not interested in dealing with people of different cultures (Chu 2014). They are comfortable in their culture and usually do not want to step out and accept a different culture. Some are in Defence and take action towards people of different cultures (Chu 2014). Their actions are usually caused by fear of an unknown belief or action and therefore in defence, they retaliate against the person in other words categorising them as â€Å"minorities†. Minimization is when they recognise a different culture but at a very superficial and minimal kind of level (Chu 2014). Our aim should be to try and help those who are ethnocentric to slowly move towards being ethnorelative. Naomi Ludemen Smith described in her article that to be ethnorelative is to adopt a position that dismantles any notion that there is a set of universal standards by which we can rightfully judge or confront the good and the bad of how a people group, religion, and society lives (Smith 2013). ethno relativism is divided into three stages, acceptance, adaptation and integration. Acceptance is to tolerate different cultures, Adaptation is to experience emphathy towards a different culture and integration is not regarding that there is a dominant culture (Chu 2014). To move from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism, according to Deardorff, the attitudes move from top to bottom. Firstly, when dealing with another culture, the ethnocentric individual will have to show respect, openness and curiosity discovery (Chu 2014). This is the basic requirement before moving on to the next stage of gaining knowledge and skills to adaptation. Individual has to show cultural self-awareness which is acknowledging that his or her culture is not perfect. After realising this, you will accept another culture and gain an understanding of it and slowly being open o listen, observe and show respect to a different culture (Chu 2014). After which, a desired internal outcome will be obtained. The individual will gain an ethnorelative mindset and will be able to empathise with other cultures. Lastly, the individual will obtain the desired external outcome being able to behave and communicate affectively and appropriately to achieve his or her goals to some degree with another culture (Chu 2014). Our ultimate goal is to achieve intercultural competence in todays globalised society. All these technical tools on how to become more ethnorelative will be completely useless if the individual does not possess the correct ethics. we need to have ethics when it comes to competence of intercultural communication. In order to address ethics in communication, we must recognise them as an extension of personal convictions or we condemn ourselves to study them as idealistic, theoractical constructs (Casmir 2013). We have to gain these ethics ourselves, gaining knowledge of the norms within other cultures and show respect towards these norms, show hospitality to people from other cultures for others to display respect to our culture therefore displaying the awareness of different cultures ethical responses (Chu 2014). At the end of the day, it is people who communicate with each other and not cultures that communicate with each other. If we look at the differences between cultures from our perspective, there are many differences however if you look at it from a individual human to human perspective, There is not much difference in the way people react to things (Chu 2014). We have to put ourselves into unknown territory for us to change and appreciate different cultures and to display ethics. The learning process or acculturation which is the process of the meeting of cultures and the changes which result from such meetings (Chu 2014). How we acculturate is the same as how we learn about things in our daily lives such as university or our work place, we expose ourselves to unknown situations and learn from it by excepting it. Intercultural empathy is shown when we place ourselves in the shoes of someone from a different cultures perspective and try to understand what it is like from their eyes (Chu 2014). It is like setting a goal for ourselves in the future and working backwards from that goal that way guide us and sets a focus into attaining our goal. Intercultural competence is important to communications because it helps us bridge cultural differences within and among nations (Chu 2014). Multiculturalism is spreading around the world due to globali zation with counties helping each other expand through trades and multi national operations. Therefore, migration is high and individuals from different cultures are made to interact with one another which is why it is necessary for us to have an ethical response to the social reality of cultural tension. Why not get along to help make the world a better place to live in.

Urban Parks Essay -- New Urban Landscape

Like most Americans, I expect to find in every city, every town, even in every village in the country, an outdoor recreation area or what is usually called a park; and I am seldom disappointed. No matter how new and unfinished a town may be, or however old and poor, I know that it will contain, wedged in among the crowded blocks of buildings, a rectangular space with grass and trees and meandering paths and perhaps a bandstand or a flagpole. --John B. Jackson, â€Å"The Past and Future Park† in Denatured Visions    Urban parks are defined in their comparative and contrastive relationships to the urban environments surrounding them. Although frequently conceptualized as natural landscapes, the physical and social uses of parks give proof to their inherently cultural â€Å"nature.† For the purpose of this paper, I will use the term â€Å"culture† to refer to human implemented social objects and actions; nature, then, as a written word and a concept circulated in culture, becomes a cultural construction. The idea of â€Å"nature† or â€Å"natural,† I will attempt to argue, refers to a certain set of cultural concepts as constructed through a discourse that is centered away from humans and characterized by irrationality, purity, and vitality. Differently stated, nature functions as a cultural construct of anti-culture, providing an escape from the confines of culture in the sense of civilization, but does not entirely evade the conceptual framework inherent to the social, discursive formation of human ideas. This intermingling relationship between nature and culture is well illustrated in the example of urban parks. Parks are constructed as natural environments but literally and figuratively constructed by human cultural proc... ...el, B. and Cecil D. Elliott. Designing America: Creating Urban Identity. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994. Groth, Paul. â€Å"Vernacular Parks.† Wrede and Adams 135-137. Jackson, John B. â€Å"The Past and Future Park.† Wrede and Adams 129-134 Peck, Robert McCraken. â€Å"The Museum that Never Was.† Natural History July 1994: 62-7. Platt, Rutherford H. â€Å"Conclusion† in The Ecological City, Rutherford H. Platt, Rowan A. Rowntree and Pamela C. Muick, eds. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1994. Schultz, Stanley K. Constructing Urban Culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989. Schuyler, David. The New Urban Landscape. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986. Wrede, Stuart and William Howard Adams, eds. Denatured Visions: Landscape and Culture in the Twentieth Century. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1991.

Tech Cert Bus Admin Principles Unit

These may lead to increased sales of products or services or to n increase in the red tape which can add to the administrative burden on the organization Other changes will be decided on by the senior management of the organization. These may include: L] Merging the organization with another, buying new companies or changing the ownership of the organization. This will usually lead to major changes at the highest level in the short term which will, inevitably, lead to changes throughout the organization over a period of time CLC Relocation or the introduction of new strategies to increase sales or reduce costs in order to increase profitsSome changes are introduced as a reaction to: CLC The introduction of new products and services. This may be in terms of products and services which your organization is able to provide, increasing sales or which they can use to reduce costs CLC Loss Of revenue. This may result from a reduction in volume of sales or a reduction in the selling price C ] A review of the organization's sales. This may be in response to the loss of revenue CLC Rising costs. These may be outside of the organization's control such as rent or taxes or controllable such as staff costs or travel expenses -3-Many of the above will lead to changes in procedures and systems and a review of working methods. The introduction of new technology may also have a major effect on the organization. Organizations may need to review the products or choices they supply in order to increase profitability or to continually improve their offer. Products and services may also change in response to: The introduction of new technology Customer feed back The arrival of new competitors Changing markets Changing legislation Economic factors Loss of sales It is important that people involved in the changes are motivated and purported during the early stages.Making sure everybody is involved and given the opportunity to contribute to changes, where possible, will help them to tak e ownership of the change. Whether individuals can contribute or not, it is essential to communicate information about the change effectively and obtain feedback as soon as information is available in order to prevent gossip and misinformation spreading. Where individuals may incur financial loss, such as by needing to relocate, information on how the organization will deal with this needs to be passed on.Where changes will affect individuals' roles, the new roles and objectives need to be identified and the reasons for the change explained and agreed. If there are changes to the systems and procedures they carry out, a training needs analysis should be completed; again, this should be done as soon as information is available in order to reassure staff that their employment is secure. New systems will need a mixture of skills and experience which will require individuals to work with others that they may not previously have worked with.This will lead to the bringing forward of more ideas and may require the introduction Of new talent to the team. When the change is in place, it is important to recognize individuals' success in dealing with or implementing the change. People will need reassurance that they can cope with the new procedures or structure as well as they coped with the old. Encouraging staff to support their colleagues or team members through the change is also important.People who see change as positive can be used to encourage others, while those who insist on seeing only the negative side can be offered stress management. Responding positively to change reduces workplace stress and can lead to opportunities to gain new skills, the possibility of promotion and encourages the facing of new challenges which will help to build self-confidence. Positive behavior in the face of change involves: Contributing ideas. You can influence changes and reduce their impact on your own situation by putting forward suggestions of your own D Communicating problems .If you identify that the proposed change will present problems which you believe have not been taken into account, let the appropriate person know as soon as possible as this may prevent problems occurring later C] Supporting decisions for improvement. If you can see the benefits of the change, make it known that you are in favor and why C] Supporting others and requesting support when you need it Seeing the change through will be much easier if everybody is committed to helping each other C] Seeing change as new challenges and embracing new opportunities.

China Communist Party

Communist Victory The victory of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over the Nationalist faction in the Chinese Civil War was a direct result of numerous influences, both internal and external. However, three important reasons for the CCP’s victory can be attributed to the Japanese attack and occupation of China during World War II, the CCP’s treatment of the Chinese people, and the political failures of the nationalist forces. The combination of these historical events provided a situation that allowed the CCP to defy the odds and take over China.The Japanese invasion of China in 1937 was the setup for the eventual success of the CCP. Although it cost the CCP manpower and resources, the Japanese attack allowed for the formation of a political environment that favored the spread of the communist party. The Japanese help legitimize the CCP by singling it out as a special enemy and instructing the Japanese supported puppet government in the job of exterminating the communi sts in their jurisdictions. The phrase, â€Å"the enemy of my enemy is my friend† applies in this situation.After the mistreatment the Chinese population endured under Japanese occupation, it is easy to comprehend why the Chinese people would gravitate towards a group that was so despised by their main tormenter. The added attention that the CCP received from the Japanese occupiers showed the Chinese people that the CCP was a force to be reckoned with, and a possible threat to Japanese interests in China. This publicity put the CCP’s in the minds of the people as a counter to the Japanese. The Japanese invasion left a power vacuum for the CCP to fill.As the Japanese forces advanced, â€Å"the traditional ruling elite evacuated†¦ and left peasants to defend for themselves during the eight years of occupation. † This allowed for the CCP to move in to the areas without leadership and gave the CCP the opportunity to win over public support. The Japanese militar y expansion into the region forced the KMT forces out of the area, but as Japanese units left the area, the CCP moved in, taking the place of the KMT government. The invasion of China also changed how the peasants viewed China as a whole.Before the invasion, the people â€Å"were a passive element in politics†¦absorbed in local matters and only had the dimmest sense of ‘China’. † However, the Japanese invasion changed how many peasants saw their role in greater population, and focused more on issues like â€Å"national defense, citizenship, treason, legitimacy of government, and the long-range betterment of the Chinese state. † The Japanese attacks on the Chinese people motivated them into shifting their thinking. They now had to think about who was going to protect their lives and property.With both nationalist and communist factions fighting the Japanese army, the interactions of the people and anti-Japanese forces would influence on what side the p eople agreed. In Edgar Snow’s Red Star Over China, Snow shares his account of what he witnessed during his time in China reporting on the actions of the communist party. Snow noticed, â€Å"most of the peasants†¦seemed to support the communists and the Red Army†¦and when asked whether they preferred it to the old days, the answer was nearly always an emphatic ‘yes. † Snow provides detail about the policies that allowed the peasants to favor the new communist rule in their region, writing that, â€Å"the Reds gave land to the land-hungry peasants, †took land and livestock from the wealthy classes and redistributed them among the poor. † The CCP polices also allowed for upper classes to not lose everything but rather †both the landlord and the rich peasant were allowed as much land as they could till with their own labor. † Although some may question the total accuracy of Snow’s work, it cannot be disputed that the policies Snow refers to did indeed influence the people into supporting the communists.Another key point on how the CCP won over the peoples’ support is the rules and policies to which Mao’s followers were forced to adhere. Simple orders like do not steal, return what your borrow, replace what you break, and be courteous allowed the CCP to earn the loyalty of the Chinese people. The communists showed special effort in appealing to women, as they hoped to win over a group of people who were traditionally an oppressed class. Instead of using only force, this respectful behavior towards the people wooed them into the supporting the CCP. The CCP actively took the communist message to the people.The communist way was presented as an ideal society for the Chinese to thrive under, and offered hope to the masses. The CCP sent out propagandists and troupes of actors teaching and entertaining the people the new superior communist way. Nationalist feelings were also stirred by the CCP in the war against the Japanese, aiding in uniting the people under the organized communist resistance. The KMT also played a vital role in the eventual communist victory in main land China. Before the second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937, the KMT focused not on the growing Japanese threat, but instead the communist faction in China.The communist forces retreated, but were not entirely eliminated. This move left open the opportunity for the CCP to grow, adapt and eventually take on the nationalist forces again at a later time. The war with Japan highlighted the failures of the nationalist regime. Hsi Chi in his work Nationalist China at War states that the abuse of the people at the hands of the nationalists â€Å"made the government appear in the people’s eyes as symbol of oppression and exploitation, and provoked widespread disillusionment and alienation among the people.This attitude in relation to the government allowed for the CCP to have a better chance at persuading t he people to join the communist movement. This failure to gain the support of the people is seconded by a soldier in the nationalist army in a letter to America. The soldier, Rau Huang, writes, â€Å"In the early stages of our war against the communists, our government was negligent in not seeking the support of the masses†¦the communists did not neglect this opportunity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The communist victory in the Chinese Civil War was a major moment in the 20th century.The communist had the fortune to have an environment that allowed their efforts to carry on despite being targeted by two other factions. A prolonged Japanese invasion permitted the CCP to move into regions and garner support from the people that may not have been available otherwise. Without a Japanese attack, a sense of nationalism may have been harder to produce from the populace. The party’s organization and methods to gain the support of the masses would prove vital in the victory as well, showing th e people a new future that could be achieved.The nationalist forces were defeated in part because they didn’t eliminate all the communists before the war with Japan, and their own disorganization and inability to gain support from the people proved to be too much to overcome. Certainly, these are not the only reasons why the CCP succeeded in taking control of China, but these elements each played their part in the puzzle that led to final victory of the Chinese Communist Party. Works Cited Babb, Geoff, â€Å"The Chinese Civil War† (presentation, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, October 29, 2012). Chi, Hsi. Nationalist China at War: Military Defeats and Political Collapse, 1937-45.Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1982. Huang , Ray. â€Å"Letter From Nanking. † Military Review, December 1948. Johnson, Chalmers. Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power, etc. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1966. Snow, Edgar. Red Star over China. New York: Grove Press , 1968. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Johnson, Chalmers. Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power, etc. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1966), 32. [ 2 ]. Johnson, Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power, 70. [ 3 ]. Johnson, Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power, 69. [ 4 ].Johnson, Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power, 69. [ 5 ]. Snow, Edgar. Red Star Over China. (New York: Grove Press, 1968), 222. [ 6 ]. Snow, Red Star Over China, 222. [ 7 ]. Snow, Red Star Over China, 222. [ 8 ]. Babb, Geoff, â€Å"The Chinese Civil War† (presentation, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, October 29, 2012). [ 9 ]. Babb, â€Å"The Chinese Civil War†. [ 10 ]. Babb, â€Å"The Chinese Civil War†. [ 11 ]. Chi, Hsi. Nationalist China at war: military defeats and political collapse, 1937-45. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1982), 190. [ 12 ]. Huang , Ray. â€Å"Letter From Nanking. † Military Review, December 1948.