Who was to blame for the banking crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Who was to blame for the banking crisis - Essay Example After the Great Depression of 1930 the world economy faced a dangerous financial crisis. It all began when sky rocket property prices in the United States started decreasing and this impact soon spread all over the financial sector. The Global Financial Crisis initiated in July 2007 with the credit crunch when US investors lost confidence in the investment of mortgage property. This all compelled US investors to inject a large portion of capital into the financial market. By September 2008 the crisis got worse and hit all stock markets globally and made the market volatile. The consumers started losing confidence in properties and the stock market and were in a position of fear what could be lying ahead of them (Broman, 2012). The banking industry has seen many fiscal crises in the past, the notable one of them being the one that started in the 1930. Since then many countries have seen ups and downs when it comes to their banking industry. The most recent one of them being that in 2007; which changed the perspective of many investors and regulators. It all took one Lehman Brothers to go bankrupt for the Wall Street crisis panic to spread worldwide and affect other countries, developing or developed. The causes were smaller in person and unimportant but together, they caused huge economies to collapse and endure great loss. The reasons were as followed: On a general note, the global financial crisis began developed its roots in 2007, July, when the US investors started to lose confidence in the values of subprime mortgages, resulting in a liquidity crisis. This lead to the US federal bank adding a notable sum of capital into the financial market but nevertheless, the issue persisted such that by 2008, the stock markets around the world became seriously volatile and subsequently crashed. The Global market braced them for they feared the impending doom that approached them. Questions pertaining to the liquidity of banks, a fall in the availability of

Martha Stewart's Case Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Martha Stewart's Case Analysis - Essay Example The company’s stated market is ‘as big as everyone who has a house.’ The company is shown to have four segments which are divided into three platforms in order to leverage investments. There is the Omnimedia platform which is divided into publishing (focusing on the Martha Stewart Living (MSL) magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings as well as a selection of special interest magazines and books and a New York Times column) and television (focusing on the Martha Stewart Living television series, From Martha’s Kitchen, prime time specials and Christmas events). There is also the OmniMerchandising platform (focusing on Martha Stewart branded lines ranging from the Martha Stewart Everyday line to the Martha Stewart Home line, distributed principally through Kmart and Sears respectively) and the Internet/Direct Commerce platform (focusing on Martha by Mail catalog and the marthastewart.com website). Stewart herself is the driving force behind the company, maintaining control over the company following privatization with 60% control of shares and 96% control of votes. She maintains close relationships with her female dominated board of directors while her family also play an important role in the business. The root problem of the report is that it is difficult to assess the value and long term future of a company which is based around a personality. This is because the company could be seriously adversely affected by a change in public opinion with regards to Martha Stewart herself. This problem exists because the company has become a personality led brand. It is therefore extremely difficult to predict how public opinion will react to the personality in the future if their perceived strengths are threatened. Examples in the case study include criticisms of Stewart as being difficult to work with, as setting unreasonably

Cost Estimation for Meeting Perths Water Needs

Cost Estimation for Meeting Perths Water Needs (a) Introduction 2.1 This career episode is based on my engineering activity at the University of Western Australia. It is about an assignment I carried out during the second semester of my masters degree in the unit Process synthesis and design, worth 25 % of the overall grade. The assignment was released on 11 August 2015 and was due on the 18 September 2015.Thus the entire task was completed in just five weeks time. (b) Background 2.2. The project on Cost Estimation for Meeting Perths Water Needs was carried out as an assignment for the unit Process Synthesis and Design. I was part of a group of six people. The project required the calculation of CAPEX and OPEX for two different scenarios and comparison of both to determine the suitable one for real life implementation. This assignment involved several design stages along with the study of flow in a pipeline in order to select the appropriate piping and the length required to meet the water requirement over a 50 year lifetime. The project was completed successfully under the guidance of Prof. Mike Johns, School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering at the University of Western Australia. 2.3 Decreasing annual rainfall and subsequent decrease in water supply had become the talk of media and local government in Perth. This has caused an interest in techniques to supply fresh water to Perth. The project aimed at evaluating two different scenarios to meet with Perths increasing water demands. The first scenario considered in the project was a two stage RO Desalination plant that would intake seawater and produce fresh water at 1000 à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â€š ¬Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¿/à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦. The second scenario was the design construction of a 2435 km Kimberly pipeline from Argyle dam to Perth capable of meeting the same fresh water requirement per day. 2.4 Some of the core duties I was involved in are as follows: I performed literature reviews and referred several materials to understand various prospects of the project. I divided the task among my team members and ensured that they accomplished their assigned tasks effectively. I estimated the CAPEX and OPEX for two different scenarios. I contributed to the discussion with the members of my team on the merits and demerits of each case of the project. I attended meetings with my supervisor and team members to discuss the progress of the project and to exchange our contributions. I also compared and validated certain theoretical results with that of my calculated ones using appropriate approaches to suit the requirements of the project. I welcomed the challenge in completing a cost breakdown analysis by selecting the appropriate material based on its mechanical properties, pressure head, volumetric flow rate, velocity and followed by certain significant assumptions throughout the project. I prepared charts and tabulations of selection and cost analysis for different equipment and materials. I also prepared a report on the comparison of CAPEX and OPEX of two different scenarios and contributed more towards the design of reverse osmosis desalination plant and its functions. (c) Personal Engineering Activity The assignment required the comparison of CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) and OPEX (Operational Expenditure) for two scenarios. The first scenario given was the reverse osmosis desalination plant. This process consists of several stages. I analyzed the process to determine the amount of feed required to produce 1000 à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â€š ¬Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¿/à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦ of fresh water. I discovered that from the 45% recovery of the RO membrane system, a 2222.2 à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â€š ¬Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¿/à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦ of salt water feed will provide the required 1000 à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â€š ¬Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¿/à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦ of fresh water to Perth. Figure 1: Reverse Osmosis design selection block diagram 2.6 In order to determine the OPEX, all the steps involved in the process had to be accounted. In order to do so, I broke down the process into independent steps. The first step was the pre-treatment of feed water to avoid fouling in the membrane system. Managing membrane fouling with pre-treatment methods reduces the replacement rate of membranes and lowers the ongoing OPEX costs. The next step involved in the process was coagulation. I chose Ferric Salts as a coagulant because of its tendency to disinfect microorganisms, partially degrade and oxidize the organic and inorganic impurities, and remove suspended particulate materials in a single dosing and mixing unit process. The next step in the process was the passage of feed water through Dual-filters. After extensive research, I decided that the Anthracite bed on silica sand was best suited to remove suspended solids and colloids formed in the ferric salt treatment. Lastly the feed was passed through micron cartridge filters to re move fine particles and bacterial matter before it was processed through a high pressure pump to the membranes. 2.7 The final and the most important step of the process was the selection of membrane. Referring to a number of papers, I found out that the best suited membrane for the specific purpose was the Toray TM820-440 membranes. These membrane elements had a high salt rejection percentage, large flux, low cost and are efficient on energy use to minimize OPEX costs. Before distribution, the permeate needs to be treated to maintain pH and remove corrosion potential. Lime contactors can increase hardness, alkalinity and pH while preventing calcium to leech from pipes into the distribution system. 2.8 I prepared the CAPEX by scaling up the capacity of an existing desalination plant to match the desired capacity. I considered The Perth Seawater Desalination Plant in Kwinana which has a capacity of 45à °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃƒ °Ã‚ Ã‚ Ã‚ ¿/à °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ¦Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ½Ãƒ °Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ… ¸ and incurred a capital cost of $387 million AUD. I also took Southern Seawater Desalination Plant into consideration in Binningup which had a capital cost of $1400 million AUD and produces 100 GL/year. Of the two, I selected the Binningup desalination plant as it was built much more recently compared to that of kwinana. From calculations, I found that the proposed plant is 3.65 times larger than the Binningup plant and as such, the CAPEX could be approximated to $5110 million AUD. 2.9 Operating Costs can be classified as fixed or variable. Figure 2: Operating expenditure classification used in the project The table below summarizes the OPEX estimation for the Desalination plant. Table 1: Summary of RO Desalination OPEX Cost Components 2.10 The second scenario to be considered was the Argyle Dam Pipeline. The solution costs were based on quotes from two Australian companies:   Steel Mains and Flowserve. I selected these two companies based on a background study that I carried out. From the research, I learnt that these companies have been involved in numerous Australian water transport projects and abide by Australian standards. The final solution that I selected was based on Steel Mains cement mortar lined pipe model DN2200 and custom made pumps designed by Flowserve with an operating head value of 250 metres with inlet and outlet valves equal to the diameter needed. The 250 metres operating head was chosen as the pipes are designed to work at 2.7MPa. After discussion with the team members, two solutions were proposed: a real pipeline with outer diameter of 2159mm, 3 pipelines with 3 pumps per pipeline, and the other one having theoretical pipelines with outer diameter 2520mm, 2 pipelines with 3 pumps. The CAPEX estimation for the proposals is as follows: Table 2: Summary of Pipeline CAPEX Cost Components The OPEX estimation has been limited to the power requirements of the pumping stations and the personnel required to run the pipeline. Table 3: Summary of Pipeline OPEX Cost Components I compared the CAPEX and OPEX along with the advantages and disadvantages of both the scenarios to determine which of the two would be more suitable for real life application. For the Kimberley pipeline, the CAPEX cost ($36.6 billion AUD) heavily exceeds the desalination plant. This large CAPEX cost comes from the cost of purchasing DN2200 pipes which have an estimated lifetime of 100 years. The major factor contributing to the OPEX value from the pipeline is maintenance (77.7%). On the proposed desalination plant solution, the CAPEX cost is relatively low compared to the pipeline ($6.275 billion AUD). The majority of this cost comes from the installation of high pressure pumping station, and a seawater desalination system with energy recovery devices which are a long term investment to save on high energy costs of up to 50-60% associated with desalination. The majority of OPEX estimates come from the cost of power to run the plant (81%). Considering all the facts, I decided that the desalination plant should be selected over the Kimberley project. This is because the desalination plant is more economically feasible over a large time span. Even though the pipeline has been designed to facilitate this increase in demand, CAPEX estimates are too expensive to justify this project. I also carried out several calculations to determine the velocity of water running through the selected pipelines and was found to be 1.08 m/s. Table 4: Information summary of real (calculated values) and theoretical pipeline options Parameters such as Reynolds number, relative roughness, pressure drop, volumetric flow rate and pipeline elevation were also determined when selecting the appropriate pipeline for this project. Estimating the appropriate number of pumping stations at remote areas along the length of the pipeline was one of the tedious task in the project as it involved a lot calculations and literature reviews. A different approach to this project was the consideration of solar technology over wave supply to be the best present day strategy at remote areas as the supply of power to pumping stations was not be a viable option by the latter. Unfortunately, these winds are not a reliable option in the interior parts of Western Australia and so would not be a feasible selection for power supply to a potential pipeline. Overall, I was able to achieve all the objectives of the project successfully within the specified time and prepared a final report incorporating all the necessary design calculations, ide as and suggestions which could have improved the overall outcome of the project. A peer review was also submitted at the end of the project as a reflection on how each team member contributed individually for the project. (d) Summary 2.15 This project provided me with a valuable experience and great insight into an industrial project. I gained profound knowledge on process economics and also helped boost my confidence. During the course of the project, I understood the importance of team work and team management. I utilized my engineering knowledge for the successful completion of the project and as a whole, this project served as a stepping stone into the industrial world.

College Athletes Should be Paid Essay example -- argumentative essay

A running back slips through the line, breaks a couple tackles, and scampers down the sideline for a large gain. The point guard pulls up for a deep jump shot over his defender and nails it as the shot clock expires. Both of these descriptions can be used to describe either a college athlete or professional athlete. Both are participating in a sporting event in which fans will pack into the stadium or arena. Money is flowing into both the college and professional organization. This is where the similarities end. In the professional leagues such as the NBA or NFL, athletes make millions of dollars off of lucrative contracts and an abundance of endorsements. They can make as much money as they possibly can. In college, the athletes are limited to what kind of scholarship the college they are attending provides them and whatever money they have saved. It may not appear like this is not a serious problem. However, there is the one glaring difference between these two sides. While professional athletes are paid to play and can make bundles of money, college athletes are not allowed to receive money or other benefits of any kind even if they acquire this money in a legal and correct fashion. This has been the rule for ages, but many people are starting to challenge the rule. There are people who believe that college athletes should not be able to receive benefits of any kind, including money. On the other side, there are people who believe that the college athletes should be able to make money and support themselves. The people who are the side which believes the should not make money usually point out the fact that they are in college and should be more focused on their studies. The other side provides many valid points to h... ...rmine how much to pay each player in different sports. However, it seems completely unfair that a college athlete can neither accept gifts from someone or even sell their own possessions to make money. If a regular student can sell something they own on a website such as Ebay, why is that an athlete is not allowed to do the same with something they own? It also seems crazy to me how something as simple as â€Å"Dez Bryant [a former wide receiver at Oklahoma State]...having a meal with Deion Sanders† (Rogers 2) will cause the NCAA to throw down harsh suspensions down on the athlete and school. The NCAA needs to worry about more important things then who the student-athletes dine with and whether or not they are selling apparel they wore in a game. Hopefully they will realize this and the student athletes in college will finally get a fair chance at the money they deserve.

Gender Roles Intro Essay

Historically and sexist speaking, women are discriminated because of gender. And issues arose because of this. Even in the beginning 1990’s there was a big gender gap in American history. It still goes on even today. Women get paid lower in income, suffraged in elections, and are abused domestically. Money wise, job amounts of payments are not getting distributed proportionally. There’s a big difference within a male’s annual income and a women’s annual income. When battles strike, back in the days during World War I and II, women were being used more for labor and mass production. They were faced with difficult tasks to take care of children, and also learning how to make weapons to equip their husbands who were soldiers at that time being. On top of that, women didn’t really have much of a say in things politically. Differing in men, majority of them didn’t even have the right to vote. Not until the nineteeth amendment was approved and valid in law, this kind of situation still continues because today, not a lot of people are willing to support a woman as a possible president. Previously in the 1990’s, a famous woman known very much for bravery to step up onto to the plate was a well known lady named Rosie, the riveter. She was qualified as someone with lots of spirit, and moved with an ambitious aura. In the past decades, women were already discriminated again for their lack of manliness and whoever was identified not as a male with a spot in masculine gender. If you were clearly a female, many privileges would be lost or not offered. The background behind gender gaps dated all the way to the beginning of mankind. In the making of history, women however gained more and more rights. Still progressing and building fortitude, valiancy to be bold is still expanding. Women equality in all subjects is being raised to a higher power. This starting point as a preceding base bought more new resources and gave something to work on more. To give women the same qualifications and providing assistance to those not capable of receiving the same policies as men was one of the main concerns. Availability to be useful to females was introduced in many different movements and targeted great objectives to accomplish more for the ladies. Transitioning into more details in the next section, anyone can see, the depths of sexuality that distinguish representations of certain values and beliefs not only physically but mentally very popular that construct much of today’s controversial debates.

Designing a Reward System

Detailing the methods of determining what aspects of the work should be monitored and rewarded is what I plan to focus on when designing my reward system. Designing a well-integrated motivation and reward is arguably one of the most important functions of management in its quest to achieve excellence in organizational performance, according to University of Phoenix Achieving Excellence in the Management of Human Services Organizations (2002). I want to focus on getting my workers to work hard to the best of their ability and be as productive as possible, providing high quality and effective services. I have to follow the basic functions of a human service organization to meet the expectations of the organizations mission. These functions have much to do with my workers and not the management. How do I get my workers to be all they can be in this organization, to accomplish the organizations mission. The designing of a successful reward system should be the answer to that question.The re are many theories of motivation and has been explored from many perspectives. According to Montana and Charnov (1993), drawing on the work of previous studies, identified twenty-five factors that motivate employees. Out of those twenty-five factors, only nine factors by its respondents in all the studies were reviewed. The nine factors of motivation selected:1. Respect for me as a person 2. Good pay 3. Chance to turn out quality work 4. Chance for promotion 5. Opportunity to do interesting work 6. Feeling my job is important 7. Boss acknowledgment of my work 8. Opportunity for self-development and improvement 9. Large amount of freedom on the job The ways in which I will address the nine factors of motivation would be equally and reviewed individually among each employee. Respect; each employee being treated equally and this will help build a strong bond within the staff and organization. Good Pay; if paid more than originally expected, this automatically becomes a motivator. Cha nce to turn out quality of work; if an employee is given a chance to complete a certain task and show their creativeness, they are providing independency and earn recognition, leading to job satisfaction. Chance for promotion; an employee works hard and completes all asked and beyond their duties. Opportunity to do interesting work; motivation comes in to play when employees have more opportunities within the organization.Feeling my job is important; the more recognition and opportunities available, the more the employee feels motivated and the importance of their job. Being told by my boss when I do a good job; boss acknowledgment lets it employees feel more motivated and focused to do more. Opportunity for self-development and improvement; an employee takes steps to improve their skills and becomes more motivated. Large amounts of freedom on the job; leads to job satisfaction because providing independency and completing work tasks is a huge motivational factor. All these nine fac tors of motivation are important when designing a reward system.There are also several necessary reward system properties: Basic Needs Satisfied, Competitive Benefits, Equitable Distribution, and Employees as Individuals (Lawler, 1977). I can make sure the basic needs are met by trying to satisfy salary and job security within my organization. I can make sure the organization offers competitive benefits by trying to compare with other human services organizations between salaries and benefits. I can make sure benefits are equally distributed by ensuring the employees are aware of their performance levels and the rules. I can make sure all my employees are treated as individuals by taking into consideration each employee has different needs. All of these properties will help develop a  fair and successful reward system.Some benefits and incentives that will be offered to employees would be merit increases, lump-sum salary increases, paid time off, insurance and retirement benefits; just to name a few. Merit increases are increases in an employee’s wages based on their performance level. Lump-sum salary increases are merit payments that may be considered part of an employee’s normal pay. Paid time off is hours an employee can use for sick days, personal days or vacation days, which are paid hours. Insurance and retirement benefits can be a positive benefit for an employee. Healthy insurance is offered and retirement plans are offered after a certain amount of years. These benefits and incentives will help motivate its employees and keep a successful reward system.This is a performance review form for an employee to be evaluated by its employer. It evaluates the employee’s levels of performance and is a good tool to use, especially for designing a reward system for a human service organization. You can design this form to meet the basic needs and functions of the organizations standard requirements. This is just an example and I feel it is a functional form. By completing this form, the employer or manager as a better review of the employee and gets an idea of where they stand. This form may be filled out after an employee’s probation period, which is usually after 90 days from the time they were hired. A manager or supervisor may also complete a form every six months or yearly. This is also good when wanting to determine of the employee gets a raise or wants a different position within the organization. These can also be compared to other employees when making that determination. They may also be held in an employee’s file and compared to previous forms to see if they improved.