Management Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management Styles - Essay Example Penalties such as fines are imposed in the negative style of management. These negative style managers dominate their subordinates by putting emphasis on the imposition of penalties and fines for substandard performance such as being fired or suspended from their present's jobs without pay, reprimand and even, in rare occasions, insults in front of their fellow workers. This style of management is very proper for some employees but may not be recommended for other employee types. The employee turnover will be higher than other management styles because the employees. This domineering management style results to lower job satisfaction because the some employees will prefer to resign than to be insulted or reprimanded in front of their workers. This is the autocratic management style. On the opposite end, some managers use the positive style of management. The managers will give better education benefits and offer rewards and even promotions for excellent and above par performances. This is the custodial management style. A third management power style occurs when there is a mixture of both the negative and positive style of management. ... imanding can be used and there is other situation, at work, when the positive style of giving rewards and bonuses will increase worker production outputs.Management's use of power to change organisational realities by getting others to do what they want done is further strengthened by the Protestant ethics during the Protestant Reformation that it is a MORAL obligation to work in order to have salvation. This ethic was one of the sparks that kindled the factory working procedures in the 18th century. Therefore, man felt that is a normal for a superior to order the workers to perform certain assigned tasks that will contribute to the accomplishment of over-all company goals and objectives Frederic W. Taylor (Waring, 1991) studied human behaviour ( Grandjean & Kroener, 1997) at work in his management science. He equates the organization as a cheap machine where the human workers, managers and supervisors are likened to its many parts or subdivisions. Each must coordinate and cooperate with each other for the smooth accomplishment of company goals. The human workers are treated just like cheap machine spare parts that can be replaced, transferred, mended and strengthened.Management has the power for the company to implement Frederic Taylor's work procedures such that each task can be broken down into its smallest unit and the best person to do a specific job should be selected so that there will more products manufactured in lesser time at a better quality standard for Frederic Taylor saw that the interaction of human characteristics, social environment, task and physical environment, capacity, speed, durability and cost contributes much to the speedy and quality accom plishment of company goals and objectives. Taylor's method has increased

Bruce Dawes poems Essay Example for Free

Bruce Dawes poems Essay Bruce Dawes poems explore the impacts of consumer culture and are an indictment of the growing materialism in modern society. In Enter Without So Much As Knocking (1962), Dawe portrays a world dominated by consumerism, which has lead to `conformity, and eroded the individuality of many people. The idea that our view of the world can only be seen through television and that our experience of life is restricted and controlled by it is highlighted in the satirical poem, Tele Vistas.(1977) This idea is revisited in The Not So Good Earth. (1966) Television in consumer society is the prime source of information and entertainment. Dawe expresses his concern that we have become desensitized to human suffering because it is presented to us as entertainment. The central message of the satirical poem Enter Without So Much As Knocking by Bruce Dawe is that â€Å"you are dust and unto dust you shall return†. Dawe’s biblical allusion emphasizes that it doesn’t matter how many consumer items and materialistic things are bought, everybody ends up the same way, back to dust again. Society is portrayed as the product of the consumer age and human life is determined as a by-product, lacking in real value and soon rendered obsolete. Dawe suggests that contemporary society is false and superficial. The intertextual reference to Bobby Dazzler epitomizes this: an empty smile behind the welcoming faà §ade reinforced through the superficial clichà © â€Å"all you lucky people† undercut by Dawe’s mocking tone in â€Å"and he really was lucky because it didn’t mean a thing to him†. The family is defined in terms of what they look like in advertising jargon: the mother is economy size. Consumerism now defines identity or lack of individuality. This brings the idea that in order to belong to a consumer based society, the individual must conform. This idea is reinforced through negative listing in â€Å"he was old enough to be realistic like every other godless money-hungry back-stabbing miserable so-and-so†. The derogatory labeling is a clichà ©d reference to the gossiping and derisive comments that characterize the materialistic culture Dawe is criticizing in his poem. Tele vistas (1977) is another satirical poem where humans are identified on the terms of brand names of communication companies, â€Å" Sanyo-orientated, Rank-Arena bred†. This use of metaphor reinforces how identity is shaped by  consumer culture – their character/personalization is determined by their choice of technology. The modern god is television and its viewing content is being satirized heavily by Dawe. This poem thoroughly ridicules the dominance of television media in our lives. Reality is defined by media constructs – relationships and human conversation comes second. Through Dawe’s indictment of consumer culture, he raises the issue that modern society lacks identity, individuality and purpose and that contemporary Australians are typically co-dependent on television for basic human interaction, †a faulty tube led to their meeting†. The romantic cliche’s juxtaposed with references to television suggest that the relationship of the couple would not have occurred without TV. The demise of the relationship is foreshadowed through the juxtaposition of ‘ever-faithful’ with an alliterative metaphoric reference to ‘’World at War’ in the final lines of the poem. Dawe suggests that relationships built on shared consumerism are ultimately shallow and unstable. The Not So Good Earth, like Tele Vistas, is centered on the commonplace activity of watching television. Dawe expresses his concern that individuals have become desensitized to human suffering because it is presented as entertainment. Vivid imagery of human suffering is juxtaposed with the upbeat tone to describe the satisfaction achieved by a good quality picture. This is made evident through the phrase, â€Å"using the contrast knob to bring them up dark, all those screaming faces†. Life footage is depicted as a product like a movie to be judged on its value to the consumer through, â€Å"on the quieter parts where theyre just starving away†. It is a very satirical poem that creates black humor. Through the characters complete insensitivity and absence of either empathy or sympathy, Dawe expresses amazement at the complacency of people in our society. A metaphoric and satirical reference is made by the poet commenting on the destruction of less privileged communities â€Å"We never did find out how it finished up Dad at this stage tripped over the main lead in the dark, hauling the whole set down smack on its inscrutable face, 600 million Chinese without a trace†. The light tone that focuses on the loss of the TV trivializes the loss of life referred to in these lines. By adopting the voice of a consumer Dawe parodies consumer culture and exposes the insensitivity that accompanies  shallow materialistic values. Enter Without So Much As Knocking (1962)outlines how consumer culture has eroded the individuality of people. This is also evident in Tele Vistas (1977) as Dawe portrays that life can only be seen through a television screen, not through common encounters. The Not So Good Earth (1966)is a very satirical poem that creates black humor through the idea that society has become desensitized to human suffering due to consumerism.

Disadvantages Of Arv Treatment Health And Social Care Essay

Disadvantages Of Arv Treatment Health And Social Care Essay Herbs have been used extensively in hopes of improving immune response and reducing symptoms. No known herbal remedy has been shown to cure AIDS or even reduce chances of AIDS-related infections. Still, some herbs can be worth trying if used safely and in consultation with a qualified practitioner who not only understands herbs but also has experience treating AIDS and HIV infection. Immunity-boosting herbs (such as Astragalus, Echinacea, and Ginkgo) may help revive an ailing immune system, and certain herbs (such as Garlic) may help battle bacteria and viruses. Deglycyrrhizinated licorice can soothe the mouth and throat ulcers that often accompany full-blown AIDS. Unfortunately, there is no known scientific explanation yet, for how herbs have these powers in treating AIDS and the only information available about how useful herbal treatments and remedies can be, is based on the knowledge gained from people living with HIV/AIDS. This means that not all herbs and remedies have the same effect on all people. Some communities have their own knowledge of health and nutrition, based on local traditions and culture. This may complicate the administration of herbal remedies from region to region, as the fundamental factor is now depending whether the patient is willing to cross cultures in order to obtain treatment. In some extreme cases, any external medical recommendations that a patient may receive is compared with their cultural practices and the recommendations of their traditional healers. Patients will only take action if the recommendations they receive appear to make sense and provide some benefit. Ironically, some traditional beliefs and food practices may not be useful at all, judging that a herb like Garlic root should work whether the patient is of Chinese or African descent. Patients with HIV/AIDS often become frustrated with management of the disease and are willing to try anything in the hope of staying healthy and living longer. One of the greatest disadvantages is that HIV/AIDS is not a traditional illness and so far, there is no hard evidence to believe that traditional medicines or herbal remedies can treat HIV and cure AIDS. However, certain herbal medicines may help to treat many of the symptoms of opportunistic infections that are part of AIDS. While some of these medicines may be undoubtedly helpful, others may be dangerous as they may do more harm than good. This happens when the patient mixes pharmaceutical drugs and herbs resulting in contra-indications or when they take certain foods that should be otherwise avoided. The notion that herbal medicines are natural and therefore safe is as widespread as it is misleading. Some of these remedies have been associated with severe adverse effects caused by the toxicity of the herbal ingredients. Others may cause problems because of contamination or adulteration [9]. Herbs and spices should be used in moderate amounts. Exceeding these amounts may cause problems and have a toxic effect; moreover, the function of the herbs and spices will not be increased. Herbs do not replace healthy eating and should not be used in place of a healthy and balanced diet but they do retain the bodys natural pH (alkaline) and this in turn, as discussed before, forces the microzymes to stop mutating into bacteria, viruses and funguses that cause opportunistic infections. 2.1.7 Advantages of Herbal Treatment: On general note, Herbal therapies seek to boost patients immune systems, inhibit opportunistic infections, alleviate symptoms, and inhibit HIV itself. Herbal medicines are very cheap in comparison to the conventional form of medication Herbal medicine helps the body to maintain its natural pH, which is alkaline; this in turn starves and inhibits all adverse microzymes from growing or mutating. Herbal medicines can be consumed without the aid of any kind of prescription, although a herbal or medical practitioner has to be consulted prior Herbal medicines are known to be more productive in comparison to other forms of medication in curing certain conditions. Herbal medicines offer long lasting benefits in terms of overall wellness. In certain situations, Herbs are considered a possible means to minimize drug side effects. Unlike with the convectional highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), herbs do not need to work in combination in order to get effective results Herbs are readily available and once a patient knows which herb to use, he/she can grow their own. 2.1.8 Disadvantages of Herbal Treatment: Curing period is usually longer in comparison to conventional medication Drug-interactions can be hazardous to a patient ,if they decide to mix herbs and drugs Herbal medicines are known to be ineffective against serious ailments Herbal medicines are taken without prescription which means that in some cases, individual might be undergoing a trial and error process with their medication. Herbal medicines can cause allergic reactions in some cases Herbal medicines will not eliminate the HI virus out of the body Most governments do not approve of any kind of herbal medication. Its usually consumed upon the persons own risk, and when it comes to branded herbal supplements one cant expect any kind of quality assurance 2.2 Expert Systems and their use on the Internet 2.2.0 Expert systems An expert system is a computer program that incorporates concepts derived from experts in a field, uses the available information, heuristics and inference to suggest solutions to problems in that particular discipline or give advice. An expert system should have good decision making, this is strongly dependent on various capabilities that include the effective acquisition, storage, distribution and sophisticated use of the human experts in the field in question. The most widely used way of representing domain knowledge in expert systems is as a set of production rules which is also how humans generally infer decisions. Expert systems were made to provide knowledge and advice to a larger number of users than one user. An Expert system can be viewed as a teaching tool because it is equipped with the unique features which allow the users to ask questions on how, why and what format, expert systems also allow automation of many tasks that could not be effectively handled by human experts. In addition, an Expert system attempts to emulate how a human expert solves a problem, mostly by the manipulation of symbols instead of numbers. As a result because of the low cost per user and automation of numerous tasks ,expert system making has become very attractive and in the long run is much cheaper than getting human expert advice, its development is however relatively costly but its operation is easy and quite cheap. Maintenance is easy as well because once an expert system is developed it is simple to add new information to the knowledge base and new rules can be developed. 2.2.1 Advantages of Expert systems Availability: The expert system is always available 24 hours a day and will on no account tire Can capture scarce expertise, collected from a number of experts and integrate their opinions. Consistency: The computer does not make common futile human mistakes such as forgetting, getting drunk or strike when it is most needed. Data can be kept up-to-date. Efficiency: Expert systems have an increased output and productivity as well as decreased decision making time. Flexibility: Expert systems can operate in hazardous environments. They can also work with incomplete or uncertain information. Scalability: The system can be used at a distance over a network therefore can reach a large population. The computer can store far more information than a human expert. 2.2.2 Disadvantages of Expert systems Expertise can be hard to extract from humans Expert system users have natural cognitive limits (therefore can not perform as perfectly as a human) Experts vocabulary is often limited and highly technical Expert systems may not be able to arrive at valid conclusions and sometimes produce incorrect recommendations Knowledge is not always readily available Lack of trust by end-users Most experts have no independent means to validate their conclusions 2.3 Structure of Expert systems A typical expert system consists of: A knowledge base; this contains the specific domain knowledge that is used by an expert to derive conclusions from facts The inference engine, which is responsible for using the rules and facts to derive conclusions whether it is through forward, backward chaining or a combination of both. An explanation system, which provides information to the user about how the inference engine arrived at its conclusions A fact database, which contains the case-specific data that are to be used in a particular case to derive a conclusion and A User interface, which provides access to the inference engine, the explanation system, and the knowledge-base editor. KnowledgeBase Fact Database Expert System Shell Inference Engine Knowledge Base Editor Explanation System User Interface User Figure2.1 A basic structure of an Expert System. An Expert System can be rule-based, frame based or both. In a rule-based system, the knowledge base is a database of rules. Rule-based systems are computer systems that use rules to provide recommendations or diagnoses, or to determine a course of action in a particular situation or to solve a particular problem. Its line of reasoning or the inference engine technique can be forward chaining, backward chaining, or a combination of both and the Rete algorithm. 2.4 Inference Engine The knowledge in the knowledge base is used for reasoning and inferring conclusions. An inference rule is an abstract structure that contains a set of rules that mathematically delineates a (usually infinite) set of finite length strings over a (usually finite) alphabet. It is a two part structure using First Order Logic for knowledge representation. If then The brain of expert system is the inference engine which is generally a large number of rules and facts. The inference engine matches facts and data, which is in the fact database against the inference rules to infer conclusions which result in actions. The process of matching the new or existing facts against inference rules is called Pattern matching. Pattern matching in the inference engine can use any of the following algorithms: Linear Rete Treat Leaps Most of the rule engines under study implement and extend the Rete algorithm. Leaps is also used widely but is questionable due to poor maintenance. Rete based engines have proprietary enhancements to the Rete algorithm like RetePlus, Rete III and ReteOO. The Rete algorithm is responsible for ensuring that there is a clear distinction between rules and facts in the database. This algorithm takes the form of a network, with nodes and paths. Each path from the root node to a leaf in the tree represents the left-hand side of a rule. Each node stores details of which facts have been matched by the rules at that point in the path. In situations where new data or facts are added, it means the Rete algorithm will propagate and change data stored at the node accordingly. In this way, the system only needs to test each new fact against the rules, and only against those rules to which the new fact is relevant, instead of checking each fact against each rule. 2.4.1 Methods of Inference Engine execution There are two methods of execution for rule based expert systems, forward chaining and backward chaining. And systems that implement both are called hybrid production rule systems. 2.4.2Forward Chaining This is a data driven and thus reactionary method. When applying forward chaining, the first step is to take the facts in the fact database and see if any combination of these matches all the antecedents (conditions) of one of the rules in the rule database. When all the antecedents of a rule are matched by facts in the database, then this rule is triggered. Usually, when a rule is triggered, it is then fired, which means its conclusion is added to the facts database. 2.4.3 Backward Chaining This method is goal driven, meaning that we start with a conclusion which the engine tries to satisfy. An inference engine using backward chaining would search the inference rules until it finds one which has a then clause that matches a desired goal. If the if clause of that inference rule is not known to be true, then it is added to the list of goals. Searches for sub goal conclusions begin, in hopes that, that will help satisfy some part of the current goal. It continues this process until either the initial conclusion is proven or there are no more sub goals. 2.5 Expert system shells Expert systems can be built that contain all the useful methods without any domain specific knowledge. These systems are called skeletal systems, shells or Artificial intelligence tools. The interpreter is separated from the domain-specific knowledge and thus creating a system that could be used to construct new expert systems by adding new knowledge corresponding to the new problem domain. Examples of shells include CLIPS, eGanges, OPS5, ART, JESS, and Eclipse. 2.6 Systems currently in use 2.6.1 Expert System for HIV/AIDS information The above expert system was created under the motivation of a Microsoft sponsored project called IHISM, which aims to contribute to the digital divide by developing an HIV and AIDS public information portal accessible through mobile phones [10]. The Expert system was tailored made with reference to Botswana, according to UNAIDS estimates, HIV/AIDS has affected every segment of Botswana society and one-third of Botswanas sexually-active population between the ages of 15 and 49 (out of a total population of 1.5 million) are infected with the virus, which is the highest rate in the world [11]. The information service portal would allow the public to request for information on topics related to HIV and AIDS such as descriptions, infection, testing, counselling and support, opportunistic diseases and paediatric care etc. The portal represents this information in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) service where the user inputs a query on any of the subjects. The system is meant to act as an online expert in HIV and AIDS information such that, some information may have to be derived through inference as opposed to simple data retrieval. The system is to accept as input a FAQ from the user and provide the most relevant answer to the question. Challenges of the system: Users may ask the questions differently in pursuit of the same answer System should be able to systematically analyse the questions and provide an appropriate answer System should be able to determine the various forms in which a typical FAQ question could be mapped to the relevant answer. Participants agreed that the expert system was not only easy to use 2.6.2 A Self-Learning Fuzzy Discrete Event System for HIV/AIDS Treatment Regimen Selection The HI virus mutates often and so a patient has to be frequently changing their medication course. And because of the strict drug adherence guidelines, it therefore becomes desirable to have a treatment- decision support system that is capable of self-learning. Basing on the fuzzy discrete event system (FDES) theory, a self-learning HIV/AIDS regimen selection system for the initial round of combination antiretroviral therapy, which is one of the most complex therapies in medicine, was developed [12]. The system consists of a treatment objectives classifier, fuzzy finite state machine models for treatment regimens, and a genetic-algorithm-based optimizer. System focuses on the four historically popular regimens with 32 associated treatment objectives involving the four most important clinical variables (potency, adherence, adverse effects, and future drug options). Advantages of the A Self-Learning Fuzzy Discrete Event System for HIV/AIDS Treatment Regimen Selection: Higher flexibility and scalability Easier knowledge upgrade for accommodating fast treatment strategy evolution with minimal system modification. Challenges of the A Self-Learning Fuzzy Discrete Event System for HIV/AIDS Treatment Regimen Selection: Patient-specific medical simulation raises several moral, ethical and policy questions that need to be answered before the methodologies can be put to widespread use. 2.6.3 A grid-based HIV expert system This system is for physicians to provide an adaptive interactive advice on treatment applied to drug resistant HI virus. Its knowledge base comprises of distributed data from infectious disease patient databases, literature on in-vitro and in-vivo pharmaceutical data, mutation databases, clinical trials, simulations and medical expert knowledge. The research uses a variety of statistical and numerical methods to identify relationships between HIV genetic sequences and antiviral resistance to investigate consistency of results. Access to and integration of data is done through existing Internet servers and emerging grid-based frameworks like Globus [13]. Advantages of the grid-based HIV expert system: Cellular automata-based simulations are used to predict the drug behaviour overtime Limitations of grid-based HIV expert system: Little data privacy. Sensitive clinical information is often kept on highly secure hospital networks 2.6.4 HIVPCES: a WWW-based HIV patient care expert system Diagnosing HIV-patients and prescribing the correct drug regimen can be a complex task whose outcome is dependent on a large number of variables. The cost of an incorrectly administered drug even for a very short time can be enormous; the HIV virus has specific drugs that can manage its growth at different levels of its life cycle. HIVPCES is a WWW-based HIV patient care expert system. It is an interactive expert system to diagnose HIV patients, and is managed centrally and accessed either as part of an intranet, or as an Internet site.781273 The user interface has been carefully designed to provide a high-level of interaction and therefore improve some of the current limitations of Web applications. The system comprises three modules: (1) A patient self-monitoring personal diary, to create a follow-up patient record; (2) A data analysis and visualisation tool; and (3) A section to allow patients to ask for advising and remote doctor support. abstract Advantages of a WWW-based HIV patient care expert system: Provides health professionals with new means for tele-monitoring and tele-caring patients. Limitations of a WWW-based HIV patient care expert system: Low system security Users anonymity features are required but hard to incorporate in this clinical domain. 2.7 Outline of proposed system In the vast world of medical expert systems there is little attention given to HIV /AIDS and when the topic does get acknowledged, little focus is put into the treatment and much more attention on the common FAQs about the virus. This system aims to center on HIV/AIDS suffering patients and offer advice on supplementary natural treatments such as herbal medicines that these patients can use. Unlike some of the current existing systems, which look at drug adherence plan, i.e. narrowing the users down to only, those on the HAART program, the proposed system can be used by patients whose CD4 count has not yet plummeted therefore allows the patient to have a informed decision on how to maintain a healthy life and have a boosted immune system. Proposed system will offer information on particular herbs, that is, the name, healing effects and the contra-indications and explanations for every herb it advises. Advantages of proposed system: Caters for both physicians and patients Caters for patients not yet on the HAART program, thus serves a wider user range Knowledge base is an integrated pool of various expert views therefore each answer supplied is about 85% System is a web based application, which is easily accessible from any computer or location with Internet access. 2.8 Conclusion The collected information above was used for the design and methodology of the proposed system. This chapter reviewed the domain in study i.e. HIV/AIDS, expert systems and a review of systems currently in existence. The following chapters of the document consist of the integration and modification of the gathered literature.

ATA Airlines :: essays research papers

On October 23, 2004 ATA Airlines filed for bankruptcy. The Indianapolis-based carrier also said it has agreed to sell its hub at Chicago’s Midway Airport to AirTran, one of its major competitors, for $87.5 million dollars. Like other airlines operating in bankruptcy, AirTran said it will maintain its full flight schedule and honor its frequent-flier commitments. The tenth-largest U.S. airline by traffic, ATA joins United, US Airways and Hawaiian Airlines in bankruptcy. ATA is the first major low-coﴱᄃst airline to seek bankruptcy protection. It has long been having difficulties by its costly leases, estimated to be about $100 million dollars per year over prevailing market rates. ATA will turn over its slots at New York’s LaGuardia and Washington Reagan National Airport to AirTran and will fly fifteen of its aircraft on AirTran behalf for six months. ATA has not arranged financing during bankruptcy but Chairman J. George Mikelsone said the AirTran deal would provide immediate cash infusion while he lines up financing elsewhere. ATA lost $90 million dollars in the first half of this year on revenue of $778 million dollars.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ATA Airlines is trying everything they can to have their company. But they are going to have to wait it out. Some of their opinions is to reorganize, return to profitability, settle their debts, and be released from bankruptcy; or they could go out of business and have their assets auctioned off under court supervision to pay as many of their remaining debts as possible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They say that the bankruptcy could probably go on for many months, perhaps for years. Some airlines, such as Continental Airlines and American West, have reorganized under bankruptcy protection, and are still operating. Several others in the USA, and more in other parts of the world, have gone out of business, sometimes after being in and out of bankruptcy repeatedly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people had questions about if they bought tickets for an airline and then they went bankrupt what should they do? They need to wait and see. You can’t get retroactive insurance. Also be prepared for schedule changes, flight cancellations, or other disruptions of your plans, before or during your trip, possibly with little or no warning. Another thing is if you have electronic tickets, consider going to the airline’s ticket counter at an airport, or one of its city ticket offices, and paying to get your ticket converted to paper tickets.

Operations Research Questions

Pace University [email  protected] Faculty Working Papers Lubin School of Business 11-1-1999 The Mystery of Linear Programming Explained: Second Edition Jack Yurkiewicz Pace University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons. pace. edu/lubinfaculty_workingpapers Recommended Citation Yurkiewicz, Jack, â€Å"The Mystery of Linear Programming Explained: Second Edition† (1999). Faculty Working Papers. Paper 21. http://digitalcommons. pace. edu/lubinfaculty_workingpapers/21 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Lubin School of Business at [email  protected]It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Working Papers by an authorized administrator of [email  protected] For more information, please contact [email  protected] edu. WORKING PAPERS No. 191 November 1999 The Mystery of Linear Programming Explained: Second Edition by Jack Yurkewicz, Ph. D. Professor of Management Science and Director of the Advanced Professional Certifica te Program Lubin School of Business Pace University THE MYSTERY OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING EXPLAINEDSECOND EDITION As Recounted by John H. Watson, M. D.Edited by Jack Yurkiewicz, Ph. D. Jack Yurkiewicz is Professor of Management Science and Director of the Advanced Professional Certificate Program at the Lubin School of Business, Pace University. Introduction INTRODUCTION I hadn't seen my old friend and companion, Sir Sherlock Holmes (he had been knighted by the Queen and insisted that this appellation be used) in several months. Feeling that I had slighted him, I rang him up and told him I would be stopping by the next day to see how his new business venture was progressing.Holmes was truly glad to hear my voice and urged that we have lunch together. While he hinted that his firm, of which he was the sole employee, was doing well, he did indeed wish to discuss a business proposition with me. Needless to say, I was intrigued. I won’t bother to bore you, dear reader, with some of o ur mundane conversation the next day save to say that I found Holmes to be moodier than ever. The great detective had long ago become bored with crime solving, claiming there was little challenge in solving many of the violent crimes that seemed so prevalent in our society.The firm that he started provided consulting service to corporations, in which he would use his mental abilities to help managers solve their business-related problems. Holmes explained to me that he enjoyed the challenge of his new endeavors but was finding it increasingly difficult to converse with these â€Å"business types,† as he called them. He just didn't have the patience to explain his findings to them, for he found them curiously dull. Holmes went on to say that he had no doubt that this fact was the cause of the country's lack of success in the international business environment.I didn't want to say it, but I thought to myself that the fault might not be solely with the business managers he was d ealing with, but partially with him, for I myself frequently found him short-tempered and impatient, even during his ordinary conversations with me. In any case, his proposition to me was simple. Holmes: Listen, Watson, I just can't bear the thought of explaining to these so-called â€Å"leaders† how they should be running their firms. They come to me with some specific problem, usually ill-defined, and then expect me to come up with a solution.I have found that getting the solution is fairly trivial, but I have the dickens of a time trying to explain it to them! You have a solid head on your shoulders, old fellow. Suppose you became my partner. Your only job would be to explain to them the solution that I propose, for I fear that my patience is not as long as yours is. Watson: The thought intrigues me, for I have been cutting back on my practice lately and do find myself available with more free time. What procedures do you use to get your results?Holmes: Mostly a branch of mathematics called â€Å"operations research,† which incidentally has its roots in this country during the Second World War. I collect the data, enter it on a computer I have in my study, and in almost an instant, I get the results. Watson: Well, I am afraid that tears it, Holmes. I don't know the first thing about operations research and thus could not possibly explain it to others. I did try to learn the subject several years back. I bought a college textbook on the subject and spent several frustrating days trying to learn linear programming.The subject seemed understandable enough, but I became hopelessly 1 The Mystery of Linear Program Explained lost on the mechanics of the simplex algorithm. I was working with equations and performing what the author called â€Å"elementary row operations. † Believe me, there was nothing elementary about it. After three days I threw the book down in disgust and came to the conclusion that only masochists or the temporarily insane would ever try to fathom such a subject. Holmes: I fear you overestimate the subject's complexity, but the point is irrelevant.No one really does these things by hand anymore, and so it was just your poor fortune to buy a book that was obsolete. All is now done with the aid of the computer. In fact, I am using a program called Solver, which is a part of Excel which is unusually easy to use and powerful. I will explain the computer output to you, along with its ramifications, and then you in turn will explain it to the manager in question. It really is quite simple, and if I may say, also lucrative. The more Holmes spoke, the more interested I became.His power of persuasion was truly formidable, and in the end, against much misgiving on my part, I agreed to enter into this venture on a trial basis. Holmes was satisfied with my decision and proposed that we start immediately with a problem that he had completed the other day that he was due to report on the following week. HOLMES DES CRIBES THE CASE Holmes: The Maximus Computer Company (MCC) has four basic computers it sells to students and small business people. The first, called the Starter, is a basic, â€Å"no-frills† computer.It has most of the amenities that a new user or a buyer on a strict budget could want, including CDROM with sound, an entry-level processor, a small hard disk, a modem for Internet access, and a 15-inch monitor. The second model, called the Midrange, is for more demanding users. This model offers a faster processor, larger hard disk, more RAM, a DVD player, and a 17-inch monitor. The third model, the Super, provides just about all the computing power a user could want. It offers even more RAM, a very fast processor, a large hard disk, a DVD player with hardware decoder, and a 17-inch monitor.All but the most demanding users would be very happy with the Super. However, for those who want the very â€Å"best,† the company offers the Extreme which offers a state-of-the-art p rocessor, a huge hard disk, the best multimedia package (the latest generation DVD ROM with a five-piece speaker system), a CD re-writable drive, a 19inch monitor, etc. Thus, while the company offers only four models, it feels there is enough flexibility to cover most of the target computer audience. It is a small start-up company and management knows it has to compete against the heavily entrenched products from Dell, IBM, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, and Gateway.The company philosophy is to ship computers with brandknown components and offer superior service, all at a cost to consumers that is lower than the competition's. Watson: Well, Holmes, I believe I know about the philosophy of the company and its immediate goals. Can you please tell me more about the four models of computers we offer? 2 How the Operation Works Holmes: As I said, Maximus makes four models with different levels of features, all with the same customer support. They believe that whatever the sophistication of the machine, customer support should be â€Å"top notch† and not deteriorate with the price.In the long run, that will generate customer good will and promote their growth in the market. Watson: I agree whole-heartedly. Tell me a bit more about the computers themselves. HOW THE OPERATION WORKS Holmes: As you probably know, the computer industry is currently very competitive, and profit margins are low for each model. The net profit on a Starter is $50, for a Midrange it is $120, for a Super it is $250, and for an Extreme it is $300. These figures already take into account material, labor, depreciation, taxes, shipping, etc. In other words, these are the net profits to the company for each computer sold.Watson: Eventually we can delve into how these values are determined and perhaps how we can increase them, but for now, let’s assume that they are sacrosanct. What else can you tell me about the operation? Holmes: Management has, what they call â€Å"three operations† that make a computer. They call the first operation manufacture. This includes taking the customer’s phone call and determining which computer and options he or she wants and getting that information to the management of the production staff. They in turn will get the necessary components and make them available to the workers on the assembly line.The second operation is referred to as assembly, where the workers on the assembly line actually put together the computer, according the specifications of the customer’s order. These are skilled workers who take pride in their work, and even though they work on an assembly line, they do not have an â€Å"assembly line mentality,† for they believe they are making custom products for specific customers. The last operation is called inspection. Here we install the software, run various diagnostic tests, and generally check out and pack up the computer before we send it to the customer. Watson: I see. operations?Do you h ave approximate time figures on how long it takes to do these Holmes: It is a function of the computer. However, they have been doing this for some time now and so the time values do not vary all that much from machine to machine. Thus, for instance, for a Starter, we can assume 0. 1 hours for manufacture, 0. 2 hours for assembly, and 0. 1 hours for inspection. Our units are always in hours,I hope that doesn’t confuse you. Watson: Not at all. Actually, I’m used to minutes and so I am making mental transformations, but since the â€Å"company units† are always measured in hours, I will use those also.Tell me the corresponding values for the other computers. 3 The Mystery of Linear Programming Explained Holmes: For a Midrange, we use 0. 2 hours to manufacture, 0. 5 hours to assemble, and 0. 2 hours for inspection. Each Super requires 0. 7 hours to manufacture, 0. 25 hours to assemble, and 0. 3 hours inspection and testing. Finally, the Extreme gets 0. 8 hours to m anufacture, 0. 2 hours to assemble, and 0. 5 hours for inspection. As I said, these numbers really don’t vary all that much from machine to machine, but as you can see, they do differ from model to model.Watson: Very well. What about your resources? How many people, or should I say, how many people-hours are available to do those three operations? Holmes: I agree with you that we should talk in terms of people-hours. I have been using the term â€Å"man-hours† for many years and if I lapse into that gender-specific term, please forgive me. To avoid offending you, I will just use the word â€Å"hours† from now on, but I hope you know I mean â€Å"people-hours† when I say it. Watson: Have no fear on my account, Holmes. My sensibilities will not be hurt if you use the older term â€Å"man-hours. What numbers do you have? Holmes: On a daily basis, management informed me that the company has 250 hours available for manufacture, 350 hours available for assembl y, and 150 hours to do the inspection and testing. Watson: I presume that with all this information, we can proceed to model the problem as a linear program. Holmes: Indeed, Watson. As I intimated earlier, we can solve linear programs with Excel. Excel comes with an add-on package called Solver that is easy to use and yet powerful enough to solve most mathematical programming problems.All we have to do is make a spreadsheet model of the problem and Solver will do the rest. Watson: Well, that certainly is good news. I use Excel and I have made many models. But how do you make a linear program model in Excel? MODELING THE PROBLEM IN EXCEL Holmes: Have a look at the Excel spreadsheet model here on my computer, Watson. It is imperative that you first learn how to model a problem in a spreadsheet. Once you master this skill, we can then proceed to discuss how Solver can be used to get the answer for us.Cells B1, C1, D1, and E1 give the labels of our computers, which in linear programming terminology are called decision variables. We want the values of these variables to appear in cells B2, C2, D2, and E2. Excel’s Solver will call these cells the changing cells. We put the per-unit profit of each computer into cells B4 through D4. These numbers are traditionally called the objective function coefficients. We must enter a formula into cell I2 (which we labeled as the Profit in cell I1) that will give the net profit for all the computer’s made. 4 Modeling the Program in ExcelA 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 B Starter 0 50 0. 1 0. 2 0. 1 C Midrange 0 120 0. 2 0. 5 0. 2 D Super 0 250 0. 7 0. 25 0. 3 E Extreme 0 300 F G H I Profit 0 max manufacture assembly inspection Available 0. 8 250 0. 2 350 0. 5 150 Used Slack 0 250 0 350 0 150 Watson: I know how to do that. We would type in cell I2 the formula: =B2*B4 + C2*C4 + D2*D4 + E2*E4 Algebraically, we are saying, with this formula: 50(Starters) + 120(Midrange) + 250(Super) + 300(Extreme) Of course, the value in cell I2 is ze ro because we have zero values for the number of computers made in cells B2 through E2.Holmes: Well done, Watson! You should know that there is a shortcut to this rather tedious formula. Excel has the built-in function, SUMPRODUCT, which will save us much typing. That is, in cell I2 we can simply type: =SUMPRODUCT(B2:E2,B4:E4) That says: multiply the values in cells B2 through E2 by the corresponding values in the cells B4 through E4 respectively, and then add up the results. That gives us the same result as your formula. However, it is easier to input, since we need just type in the =sumproduct, highlight the ranges, and type the parentheses.The result is our total profit, which Solver calls the target cell. Watson: I suspect that we will be using that sumproduct function again. Tell me about the other items I see in your spreadsheet. Holmes: Our model is incomplete. We need to specify the constraints. These account for the technological, economic, or other limitations of the syste m, and restrict the values of the decision variables to some feasible set. We have three constraints in our problem: manufacturing, assembly, and inspection. Our manufacturing constraint is: 0. 1(Starter) + 0. 2(Midrange) + 0. 7(Super) + 0. 8(Extreme)

Protecting Interest Of The Minority Shareholders

In Asian countries including Bangladesh, the controlling ownership of public listed companies are dominated by some families. The problem of minority exploitation may arise when the ownership is highly concentrated in any specific group, especially family ownership. One of the consequences of this is the expropriation of minority shareholder rights. Apart from family control another limitation of principles of corporate law is the principle of majority rule, sometimes called the â€Å"supremacy of majority† rule.Those who invested more in the company bear a greater risk in the event of a business failure, but simultaneously they have a greater degree of control over the company. There is certainly a risk that the majority will take advantage of the minority and that a company will be run at the expense of the minority shareholders. Any decision of Annual general meeting (AGM) adapted by majority vote and directors are appointed and may be removed from the office at any time by a simple majority at the general meeting.Thus, the directors are motivated to act in the best interests of the majority who appointed them and who may remove them. Minority shareholder rights expropriation occurred when family ownership directed cash to their own benefit, inefficient projects and connected lending to relatives and friends rather than return it in dividends to minority shareholders. Other expropriation can take the form of profit reallocation, assets misuse, transfer pricing, sell below the market price departments or parts of the firm to other firms that major shareholders own, or acquisition of other firms that major shareholders own at a premium.The majority shareholders treats the company as his own, and acts accordingly, to the detriment of the other shareholders, or where there is a breakdown in the relationship of the shareholders or any of their number, which gives rise to questions about the future ownership and control of the Company. On the other hand, wh ere a single or small number of shareholders hold a substantial block of shares in the company, say, in excess of 25% of the voting rights, securing managerial accountability to the shareholders or at least to the controlling shareholders through the traditional governance mechanisms of company law can dominate the company.In some situation, the ‘non-controlling’ shareholders may collectively hold more voting shares than the ‘controlling’ shareholders. However, if the non-controlling shares are widely dispersed, effective control of the company will lie in the hands of the block-holder, even if that block consists of less than 50% of the voting shares. The shareholder providing the majority of the capital may sometimes not control the company.In such a case the majority shareholder is effectively in a minority position with regard to the exercising of controlling rights. The emergence of such a situations are the principal/agent problem between the controll ing shareholders and the non-controlling ‘minority’ shareholders. The corporate management law and policy must have protection of interest of the minority shareholders. The general purpose of minority protection instruments is to prevent the abuse of power by the major shareholders.There is not an easy solution, to the problem, since the principle of majority rule, in company law and other rules of regulators. It is a long established principle of corporate law that the regulators and courts should not intervene in business decisions due to the nonintervention policy or internal management principle. There is no statutory law of anywhere contains a definition of the minority or majority shareholder. The distinguishing factor between the two is the degree of control over the corporation.The number of shares owned is not  decisive, even a shareholder owning a majority of shares may be a minority shareholder, if other shareholders are well organized and, thus, control th e company. The company must follow the principles ‘partnership’ and consultation aims at balancing the interest between major and minor shareholders, and usually do not infringe minorities rights through guaranteeing at least the following minority rights such as respect of opinion of major shareholders toward minorities, the right of minorities to be heard on regard of business matters and exit rights.The limited Liability Companies, which are, in practical terms, run, as if they were a partnership, between the persons who are shareholders of same, might be regarded by the law, as â€Å"quasi partnership†. The OECD principles on Corporate Governance (2004) provide that: Shareholders, including institutional shareholders, should be allowed to consult with each other on issues concerning their basic shareholder rights as defined in the Principles, subject to exceptions to prevent abuse.The protection comes from better legal protection, stronger structure of the in ternal control mechanisms and more efficient capital markets and market for corporate control. One of the methods to ensure the minority rights is to follow good Corporate Governance principles because there exists a relation between the level of protection of minority shareholders and incorporation of good practices of Corporate Governance. The separation of ownership and control in corporations with dispersed ownership structure highlights the agency issue due to conflict between agents (directors) and principals (shareholders).Due to a different agency problem that arises on account of the conflict between dominant and minority shareholders. The minority shareholders can be empowered by ensuring control over the management and board of directors. The board of directors are accountable to the shareholders as a class is to make it easy for the shareholders to convene meetings to consider the removal of directors, evaluate the board’s performance and remove directors of whom they disapprove.The minority shareholders are afforded the remedies if the majority shareholders, violate a personal right of a minority shareholder, then he can file a personal action against the wrongdoers to rectify such a violation of the articles of association of the Company or of the terms of any shareholder agreement etc. With increasing instances of corporate fraud around the world, another remedy is provisions for class action suits. Class action is a law suit brought by one or more individuals on behalf of a large group of people who have the same complaint.In certain circumstances, minority shareholders may bring a common law derivative action, on behalf of the company, against the wrongdoers, who committed a wrong to the company. Wrongdoers can be shareholders and directors of the company, as well as third parties. In order to be able to proceed with a derivative action at common law, the minority shareholders must have legal options to persuade the courts, that the com pany’s decisions by majority shareholders are not to pursue a remedy for the wrong done to the company which amounts to a â€Å"fraud on the minority† .Another Statutory remedy is of petition to winding up of the company on a just and equitable ground. There is hearsay that few sponsors / families are responsible for share scams causing huge loss of small investors. Security exchange commission (SEC) has such views with perceived experiences of two share market debacles and issued a notification on November 22, 2011 imposing conditions that all sponsors / promoters and directors of a listed company shall jointly hold minimum 30% share of paid up capital of the company. Moreover, each director shall hold minimum 2% of the paid up capital.In case of vacancy of anyone holding 5% share shall be entitled to be directors. The publicly listed companies have usually 15 directors and they will hold 75% of the share and voting rights of the company. This means the companies will gradually go under control of few limited persons who have capacity of investment of sufficient amount. SEC has in mind that, mandatory provision of higher shares will prevent such future stock market debacle. But as per investigation report of Mr Khondaker Ibrahim Khaled, accepted by all, there are many organizations including SEC are jointly responsible for disaster in stock market.The public companies are controlled by few families and the directors are ‘elected’ from same family by rotation and under full control of families. They retire due to compulsion of retirements as per law. Small shareholders are awarded a gift pack and nominal dividends in AGM and have no say against the decision of these controlling families. Companies go for public share to generate fund for investments but shall fail to generate fund with higher investments of sponsors and directors.The over investment of sponsors / directors will not bring sufficient share in the market and the market will remain at the present status of low investment. India has totally different legal framework to safeguard interest of small investors. Indian Companies Act 2013 under section -151. A listed company may have one director elected by such small shareholders in such manner and with such terms and conditions as may be prescribed. For the purposes of this section â€Å"small shareholders† means a shareholder holding shares of nominal value of not more than twenty thousand rupees or such other sum as may be prescribed.There is no policy of a designated directorship of choice of minority shareholder nor there do any provision to control, appoint or remove any director. The global law and policy is to protect the rights of minority shareholders but in contrary Bangladesh SEC make legal provision of make the minority shareholder marginalized and have no option to exercise their rights due to majority rule and lose their voice. The decision of higher investment of directors is not g ood for stock market and should be amended to find way out to safeguard interest of minor shareholders from the proven experience of other markets. Protecting interest of the minority Shareholders In Asian countries including Bangladesh, the controlling ownership of public listed companies are dominated by some families. The problem of minority exploitation may arise when the ownership is highly concentrated in any specific group, especially family ownership. One of the consequences of this is the expropriation of minority shareholder rights.Apart from family control another limitation of principles of corporate law is the principle of majority rule, sometimes called the â€Å"supremacy of majority† rule. Those who invested more in the company bear a greater risk in the event of a business failure, but simultaneously they have a greater degree of control over the company. There is certainly a risk that the majority will take advantage of the minority and that a company will be run at the expense of the minority shareholders.Any decision of Annual general meeting (AGM) adapted by majority vote and directors are appointed and may be removed from the office at any time by a simple majority at the general meeting. Thus, the directors are motivated to act in the best interests of the majority who appointed them and who may remove them.Minority shareholder rights expropriation occurred when family ownership directed cash to their own benefit, inefficient projects and connected lending to relatives and friends rather than return it in dividends to minority shareholders. Other expropriation can take the form of profit  reallocation, assets misuse, transfer pricing, sell below the market price departments or parts of the firm to other firms that major shareholders own, or acquisition of other firms that major shareholders own at a premium. The majority shareholders treats the company as his own, and acts accordingly, to the detriment of the other shareholders, or where there is a breakdown in the relationship of the shareholders or any of their number, which gives rise to questions about the future ownership and control of the Company.On the other hand, where a single or small number of shareholders hold a substantial block of shares in the company, say, in excess of 25% of the voting rights, securing managerial accountability to the shareholders or at least to the controlling shareholders through the traditional governance mechanisms of company law can dominate the company. In some situation, the ‘non-controlling’ shareholders may collectively hold more voting shares than the ‘controlling’ shareholders. However, if the non-controlling shares are widely dispersed, effective control of the company will lie in the hands of the block-holder, even if that block consists of less than 50% of the voting shares.The shareholder providing the majority of the capital may sometimes not control the company. In such a case the majority shareholder is effectively in a minority position with regard to the exercising of controlling rights. The emergence of such a situations are the principal/agent problem between the contr olling shareholders and the non-controlling ‘minority’ shareholders.The corporate management law and policy must have protection of interest of the minority shareholders. The general purpose of minority protection instruments is to prevent the abuse of power by the major shareholders. There is not an easy solution, to the problem, since the principle of majority rule, in company law and other rules of regulators. It is a long established principle of corporate law that the regulators and courts should not intervene in business decisions due to the nonintervention policy or internal management principle.There is no statutory law of anywhere contains a definition of the minority or majority shareholder. The distinguishing factor between the two is the degree of control over the corporation. The number of shares owned is not  decisive, even a shareholder owning a majority of shares may be a minority shareholder, if other shareholders are well organized and, thus, control the company.The company must follow the principles ‘partnership’ and consultation aims at balancing the interest between major and minor shareholders, and usually do not infringe minorities rights through guaranteeing at least the following minority rights such as respect of opinion of major shareholders toward minorities, the right of minorities to be heard on regard of business matters and exit rights. The limited Liability Companies, which are, in practical terms, run, as if they were a partnership, between the persons who are shareholders of same, might be regarded by the law, as â€Å"quasi partnership†.The OECD principles on Corporate Governance (2004) provide that: Shareholders, including institutional shareholders, should be allowed to consult with each other on issues concerning their basic shareholder rights as defined in the Principles, subject to exceptions to prevent abuse.The protection comes from better legal protection, stronger structure of the internal control mechanisms and more efficient capital markets and market for corporate control. One of the methods to ensure the minority rights is to follow good Corporate Governance principles because there exists a relation between the level of protection of minority shareholders and incorporation of good practices of Corporate Governance.The separation of ownership and control in corporations with dispersed ownership structure highlights the agency issue due to conflict between agents (directors) and principals (shareholders). Due to a different agency problem that arises on account of the conflict between dominant and minority shareholders. The minority shareholders can be empowered by ensuring control over the management and board of directors. The board of directors are accountable to the shareholders as a class is to make it easy for the shareholders to convene meetings to consider the removal of directors, evaluate the board’s performance and remove directors of who m they  disapprove.The minority shareholders are afforded the remedies if the majority shareholders, violate a personal right of a minority shareholder, then he can file a personal action against the wrongdoers to rectify such a violation of the articles of association of the Company or of the terms of any shareholder agreement etc. With increasing instances of corporate fraud around the world, another remedy is provisions for class action suits. Class action is a law suit brought by one or more individuals on behalf of a large group of people who have the same complaint. In certain circumstances, minority shareholders may bring a common law derivative action, on behalf of the company, against the wrongdoers, who committed a wrong to the company.Wrongdoers can be shareholders and directors of the company, as well as third parties. In order to be able to proceed with a derivative action at common law, the minority shareholders must have legal options to persuade the courts, that th e company’s decisions by majority shareholders are not to pursue a remedy for the wrong done to the company which amounts to a â€Å"fraud on the minority† . Another Statutory remedy is of petition to winding up of the company on a just and equitable ground. There is hearsay that few sponsors / families are responsible for share scams causing huge loss of small investors.Security exchange commission (SEC) has such views with perceived experiences of two share market debacles and issued a notification on November 22, 2011 imposing conditions that all sponsors / promoters and directors of a listed company shall jointly hold minimum 30% share of paid up capital of the company. Moreover, each director shall hold minimum 2% of the paid up capital. In case of vacancy of anyone holding 5% share shall be entitled to be directors. The publicly listed companies have usually 15 directors and they will hold 75% of the share and voting rights of the company.This means the companies will gradually go under control of few limited persons who have capacity of investment of sufficient amount. SEC has in mind that, mandatory provision of higher shares will prevent such future stock market debacle. But as per investigation report of Mr Khondaker Ibrahim Khaled, accepted by all, there are many organizations including SEC are jointly responsible for disaster in stock market.The public companies are controlled by few families and the directors are ‘elected’ from same family by rotation and under full control of families. They retire due to compulsion of retirements as per law. Small shareholders are awarded a gift pack and nominal dividends in AGM and have no say against the decision of these controlling families. Companies go for public share to generate fund for investments but shall fail to generate fund with higher investments of sponsors and directors. The over investment of sponsors / directors will not bring sufficient share in the market and the m arket will remain at the present status of low investment.India has totally different legal framework to safeguard interest of small investors. Indian Companies Act 2013 under section -151. A listed company may have one director elected by such small shareholders in such manner and with such terms and conditions as may be prescribed. For the purposes of this section â€Å"small shareholders† means a shareholder holding shares of nominal value of not more than twenty thousand rupees or such other sum as may be prescribed.There is no policy of a designated directorship of choice of minority shareholder nor there do any provision to control, appoint or remove any director. The global law and policy is to protect the rights of minority shareholders but in contrary Bangladesh SEC make legal provision of make the minority shareholder marginalized and have no option to exercise their rights due to majority rule and lose their voice.The decision of higher investment of directors is n ot good for stock market and should be amended to find way out to safeguard interest of minor shareholders from the proven experience of other markets.