Mutual Fund Project Essay

The fund employs a passive management investment approach. It is a low cost way to gain diversified exposure to the equity market in the United States. The fund invests in 500 of the largest companies in the United States. The companies span many different industries and the fund accounts for about 75% of the United States stock market’s value. VFINX measures the investment return of large-capitalization stocks. The most obvious risk is the volatility that comes with its full exposure to the stock market. The mutual fund portfolio’s composition is made up of 99. 45% stocks and . 55% cash. The expense ratio for this mutual fund is . 17%. This is the annual fee that shareholders are charged. It expresses the percentage of assets deducted each fiscal year for fund expenses, including 12b-1 fees, management fees, administrative fees, operating costs, and all other asset-based costs incurred by the fund. For the Year-to-Date (ytd) rankings in its category, VFINX ranked in at 24 according to Yahoo! Finance. Over the last 10 years, the fund has performed in direct correlation to the S&P 500 being that it is an index fund and there is a beta of 1, meaning that whatever the S&P 500 does, the fund will do as well. VFINX is a good choice if an investor is seeking a mutual fund that offers the stability of large, established companies and the wide exposure of a fund that holds both value and growth stocks. Fidelity Magellan Fund (FMAGX) has ridden the ups and downs over the years of the market’s roller coaster. The fund has gone through many changes over the years and one of the most important key factors to the fund’s performance has been related to the way it was managed. The fund currently has assets totaling 14. billion and its portfolio consists of growth and value stocks across the capitalization spectrum from around the world and the United States. The fund keeps about 20 percent of the holdings in foreign stocks. It is one of the world’s most known actively managed funds and has finally found some stability due to its newest manager, Harry Lange. In 2008, during the financial crisis, the management chose to stay aggressive instead of investing defensively and incurred a bad loss, which lead to the changes in management. FMAGX is classified as a large growth fund and is ranked 24 in its category according to Yahoo! Finance. The 3-year beta is 1. 7, which means that it bears more risk than investing directly in the S&P 500, however this also means that it could provide heftier returns. The mutual fund portfolio’s composition

Britain in an Age of Total War

Britain in an Age of Total War Free Online Research Papers 1. What can you learn from source A about the response of the British people to the effects of the blitz? This is an extract from a book celebrating the positive outcome of the blitz; it portrays the British people as being brave and determined. Using words like â€Å"heroes† and â€Å"unshakeable determination† it evokes the famous image of British resolve and strength of mind in the face of â€Å"terror and tragedy†. However since this was written in a book to commemorate the blitz fifty years later it is not the purpose of this extract to criticize the reaction of the British people but only to celebrate their grit and success in uniting as a country, therefore it is not a completely reliable piece of evidence to use as it only shows one side of the British peoples’ response. Furthermore this extract gives no factual evidence to support its claims. 2. How useful are sources B and C in helping you to understand the effects of the blitz on people in Britain? Sources B and C illustrate the role of propaganda and censorship in Britain at the time of the war. Source B shows the extent of the damage and tragedy that the British, particularly Londoners, suffered on a daily basis during the blitz. It is an extremely sad and upsetting photo as it shows dead children, the fact that it was censored shows that the government thought that the effect this photo would have on the British public would be demoralizing and therefore detrimental to the war effort. Some people argue that censorship of this kind was hypocritical in a war for democracy against fascism but others maintain that in order to win the war to save democracy it was, paradoxically, necessary for the British people to lose some of their own rights. Source C definitely is evidence to show the morale and ‘grit’ of the British nation; it shows people whose houses have apparently been bombed standing together smiling and holding their thumbs up. However it is impossible to know whether this photo was staged or purposefully given the wrong caption in order to be used as propaganda to help lift the public’s morale. Therefore sources B and C are not 100% useful in showing the effects of the blitz on the people but can be used to show how the British people were portrayed to themselves by the government. 3. Does source d support the evidence of sources B and C about the damage done during air raids? All these sources show the devastation and destruction caused during the air raids; source B shows the huge amount of casualties and deaths caused when the bombs hit a school, source C shows just how many people could lose their homes in a single night and source D very well illustrates the destruction caused in cities and to the buildings, in this way all these pieces of evidence are in agreement. However, where they differ is in how they portray the peoples’ reaction to these events. This is shown especially by the strong contrast of sources C and D, both of which show the devastating aftermath of an air raid. In source C the people are friendly and happy, they are united by tragedy rather than divided; this source is good evidence of the ‘social fusion’ that some historians claim was a positive effect of the blitz and proved the British people had an ability to ‘come together’ in times of hardship. However source D shows an opposite effect of the b litz, instead of helping each other the people in this photograph appear to be in conflict with one another, there seems to be an argument going on which could have been caused by someone taking advantage of this situation to steal from someone else. This image definitely does not show ‘morale’, it shows how important it was for the government to maintain the spirits of the people in order for society to remain stable and normal, and was for these reasons that photos like source B had to be banned. 4. Use sources E, F and G, and your own knowledge, to explain why the government was concerned about the morale of the British people in the autumn of 1940 September 1940 was when the blitz began in Britain. Germany had already invaded Norway, France and Switzerland and now Hitler wanted Britain. The Government knew that if they were going to resist Germany’s attacks they would need the public behind them. So they used propaganda and the press to push an image of a united Britain that had no reason to fear the Germans, they used every possible resource to ensure that the British people did not give way to hysteria or panic. However these attempts were not completely successful; source E (a secret report to the government from 10th September 1940) portrays the way in which London’s east end, the ‘capital’ of the blitz, was affected. It describes the people as running â€Å"madly for shelters† creating an image of chaos and disorder, it makes constant reference to the mass evacuation of the east end by its people; taxis taking â€Å"group after group† to the train stations and people asking the Cit izen’s Advice Bureau if they could be removed from the district. Source F seems to agree with this; it remarks on the â€Å"bitterness† in the east end and the fact that even the king and Queen where booed when they visited there. This shows that the people of the east end were incredibly disaffected and disillusioned with their government; by booing the monarchy, who were at that time still very well respected and loved by the people of Britain, they were rejecting the very idea of being British which is what the royal family symbolise. It was this disillusionment and cynicism that made the government concerned about the morale of the British people. However source G seems to infer that even though the British people were frightened and anxious they did not allow this to affect their contribution to the war effort; â€Å"attendance at work remained surprisingly good† and even the people fleeing the cities or â€Å"trekking† were also â€Å"the same peo ple who continued to turn up for work. 5.’the impression that the British faced the blitz with courage and unity is a myth’ explain whether you agree with this statement†¦ Many people, including those who lived through it, believe the blitz to be Britain’s ‘finest hour’; that the crisis of the war enabled the British people to forget their differences and live together peacefully, but did the war really bring out the best in people? Some people do believe that the war divided the people of Britain rather than uniting them. This is shown by the conflict created in source D, society is reacting in a negative way to the effects of the blitz. This photograph does not show ‘unity’ in any way; it shows the degeneration and breakdown of British society, a people pushed by war to a point where any morals or sense of social harmony is lost. However there is also a theory that the blitz created an unprecedented amount of social fusion between the previously very segregated classes. The rich had the same rations as the poor, a sense of unity was created through the shared realisation that the bombs would not discriminate and clas s divisions noticeably lessened and blurred more than anyone had a right to expect; this is partly shown in source C where you can see lots of people from different backgrounds all coming together despite the fact that the only thing they have in common is that their houses were bombed. But was this new found sense of equality real or just on the surface? Research done at the time shows that the poverty gap between rich and poor was still huge, adequate protection against the bombing was not supplied to the poor. London’s east end was densely populated with some of the poorest people in the country; it was called the ‘capital of the blitz’ as it received ten times more bombs than anywhere else in London but shockingly got the least protection from the government. Statistically you were more likely to die if you were working class, this is shown in source E: â€Å"Exodus from the east end is growing rapidly†- this strongly contradicts the myth of class equa lity. The idea of unity amongst the British people is also opposed by the obvious amount of disillusionment that spread through the workforce during the years of the blitz; although the war did help cause a large industrial boom after the slump of the thirties there was also a lot of striking. In 1941 60,000 men went on strike in Glasgow, there were stoppages across the country and millions of working day were lost. Although the government had expected some industrial Unna rest they were not prepared for this. The Government knew that the war was spreading discontent, so in order to combat this they pushed an image of a united Britain; they made people believe that the war was transforming their country. The government used propaganda to distort what was really happening in order to make the country unite. Some people think that this method of control was unnecessarily patronizing, suppressing and totalitarian, and that trust and morale would have been increased more by the truth rather than lies. However you could argue that it is necessary in a time of war for certain civil rights to be surrendered for the greater good, and that by merely accentuating the positive and emitting the negative the government managed to turn the war around by using morale as a weapon to keep the people behind them in a time when the ends mattered more than the means. I do not think there is one definitive answer to this question; you could argue that the blitz brought out the grit and resolve in the British people that it helped to destroy social boundaries and bring people together in a united front for the greater good. Or you could also argue that, if anything, the fear and social Unna rest created by the blitz managed only to divide a country already separated by class, sex and race; that it amplified existing social tensions and created new problems; that the government had to resort to a hypocritically fascistic method of censorship and propaganda in order to subdue their frightened and apathetic people. But, in conclusion, even though the idea that Britain was united by the war may have been exaggerated, or may even be completely fictional, it did at least contribute largely to the creation of the National Health Service and to Britain becoming the ‘welfare state’. So even if the courage and unity of Britain was a myth, at least this myth had helped to create a New Britain where the people were united by a shared responsibility for the welfare of everyone. Research Papers on Britain in an Age of Total WarAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Bringing Democracy to AfricaQuebec and CanadaEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenPETSTEL analysis of IndiaMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductCapital PunishmentUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andHip-Hop is Art

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Compare and Contrast Essays

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Compare and Contrast Essays The Perks of Being a Wallflower Compare and Contrast Paper The Perks of Being a Wallflower Compare and Contrast Paper Essay Topic: The Perks Of Being a Wallflower The book and the movie for The Perks of Being a Wallflower are extremely different, and I believe that the movie is much better than the book. The book is written much differently than the movie. There are lots of scenes that are in the book but not in the movie and that are in the movie not the book. The movie focuses less on the bigger, depressing topics than the book does. The characters in the movie are also much different than they are in the book. Their personalities are very different in the movie than the author described them as in the book.The movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is directed very differently than how the book is written. The book is written in letters that Charlie writes to a friend. In the book, it’s harder to â€Å"get to know† the characters. Charlie describes them very well but it is harder to actually feel like you â€Å"know† the characters. Charlie sometimes narrates the movie, but it is also in 3rd per son. Because the movie is also in 3rd person, you can â€Å"get to know† the characters better. In the movie Charlie also has flashbacks. When he has them he describes himself as â€Å"getting bad again†.Because the book was written in 2nd person, Charlie never had flashbacks. In addition to the book being written differently than the movie, there are many things that were left out of the movie that were in the book. One thing that was in the book but not the movie was when Charlie caught his sister Candace and her boyfriend, Ponytail Derek sleeping together. In the movie they also leave the part out when Charlie drives Candace to get an abortion. Charlie, Sam and Patrick also smoke cigarettes in the book, but they don’t in the movie. One big thing that Charlie did a lot of in the book, but almost none of in the movie was cry.In the book, Charlie cries after he and Sean get in a fight, when Sam kisses him, when he breaks up the fight between Patrick and Brad, an d after the dare where Patrick told Charlie to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, while he is dating Mary Elizabeth, and he kisses Sam. In the movie, the only time you see Charlie crying is at the end, when he blacks out and attempts to commit suicide. There are many scenes and details that were in the book, but were left out of the movie, one thing that differentiates the movie from the book, is the change in character’s personalities and the relationships between the characters.In the book, Candace and Charlie seem like they don’t get along extremely well. Like any brother and sister, they fight quite a lot and they get in many arguments. But Candace seems like she is much meaner to him in the book than she is to him in the movie. In the movie Candace is much nicer to Charlie, and just nicer in general. Patrick is quite similar in the movie to how he was in the book, except for his personality. In the book, Patrick seems less carefree and funny. It seems like he is a jokester, but he can also be very serious at times. While in the movie he can’t be taken seriously and he always is trying to lighten the mood.Even when he and Brad were going through a rough spot in their relationship, he was still messing around and cracking jokes. Charlie was the character that is the most different in the book and in the movie. In the book, Charlie is portrayed as weak, nerdy and extremely awkward. But in the movie he is a tougher character and he seems a lot less quiet and shy. One way the movie shows that Charlie is not very weak is how he only cries once at the end. While in the book he cries all the time. The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a good book but a very good movie.If the movie had all of the scenes that the book had in it, the movie would be extremely depressing. The movie was written differently than the book, it was written in 3rd and 2nd person while the book was only written in 2nd. There are very many things that the book had, but the movie did not. Including some of the very heavy events and flashbacks that Charlie had. Some of the characters in the book were shown very differently than they were in the movie. After watching the movie and reading the book for The Perks of Being A Wallflower, I believe that the movie is better than the book.

Balanced Scorecard

Since the Market downturn in October 2007, a challenging set of economic events has been rocking the financial services industry and AXA equitable has since experienced major changes to keep the company competitive. A well-developed balanced scorecard is what AXA Equitable needs in order to remain a worldwide leader in the financial services industry. In the past, management have believed that the factors critical to the success of a company were based solely upon financial measures; this is why the Balanced scorecard was developed. The BSC has gained increasing popularity as an effective management tool that aligns employee actions and goals with corporate strategy since first being introduced in 1992 (Davis Albright, 2004). Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton proposed the balanced scorecard (BSC). The Balanced scorecard is a widely recognized tool to support decision making at the strategic management level which improves the satisfaction of the strategic objectives (Kaplan Norton, 1992). The BSC provides feedback on internal business processes, performance, and market conditions in order to review the trategy and future plans and  Large U. S. companies, such as General Electric and Federal Express, and non-profit and public organizations have implemented the BSC approach (Creamer Freun, 2010). According to the module, â€Å"financial measures are inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation (Baltzan, Phillips, Haag 2010). The balanced scorecard deals with a proposed model that embraces both financial and non-financial aspects to measure performance of an organization in the financial services industry (Wu, Tzeng, Chen, 2009). The  balanced scorecard[pic](BSC) is a multi-criteria evaluation concept that highlights the importance of performance measurement, and it recognizes that performance measurement should be incorporated in both of financial and non-financial measures; it captures not only a firm’s current performance but also the drivers of its future performance (Tseng, 2010). The balanced scorecard would be a positive force for AXA Equitable as it is a vital part of an overall strategy to become and remain an industry leader. Since times can be unsettling and while no company is immune from the challenges of a volatile market, management should strive to identify the factors that are critical to the success of the company. AXA Equitable needs to implement the measures listed on the balanced scorecard to achieve the company’s critical success factors. This will strengthen the company and continually improve AXA Equitable’s ability to manage through turbulent market conditions when necessary. The Balanced scorecard has four main parts. The balanced scorecard is developed along the four well-known perspectives of Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process, and Learning and Growth Performance, which, at any point in time of measurement, characterize the current status and future potential of organizations (Craig Moores, 2010). The financial perspective includes the measure of an organizations financial performance. For instance, it measures revenue growth, shareholder’s value, assets under management, and cash flow. This perspective links the company to its shareholders with main attention to the question: â€Å"How do we look to our shareholders and those with a financial interest in the organization? † Financial goals include achieving profitability, maintaining liquidity and solvency both short term as well as long-term, growth in sales turnover and maximizing wealth of shareholders (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The customer perspective includes the measure of an organizations market share, customer satisfaction, customer retention, customer referrals and value added activities. This is the second external oriented perspective that takes a look at the organization’s customers, who are the crucial factor for financial success generating revenue by buying products and services. The question is: â€Å"How do our customers perceive us in term of products, services, relationships and value-added? † (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The internal process perspective includes the measure of an organizations productivity, research and development, customer complaints and returns, and operational speed. This Measure focuses on the internal processes that will have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction and achieving an organization’s financial objectives. Firms should decide what processes and competencies they must excel at and specify measures for each of them (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The learning and growth perspective includes the measure of an organizations turnover ratio, hiring goals, education and training of new and existing employees, and number of new and improved products or services. This perspective identifies the infrastructure that the organization must build to create long-term growth and improvement. Intense global competition requires that organizations continually improve their capabilities for delivering value to customers and shareholders. Thus the question remains: â€Å"To achieve our future vision, how will we continue to improve and create future value for our stakeholders? † (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The best way to measure AXA Equitable’s financial performance is the shareholders value. This shows the value that the shareholders perceive AXA Equitable to be worth. There is strong evidence that the balanced scorecard is an effective strategic management tool that leads to improved shareholder returns (Crabtree DeBusk, 2008). The primary objective of management should be maximizing its shareholder’s value. Since the turbulent economy, AXA Equitable shareholder value is back on the up rise again. This can be seen with the stock price. AXA Equitable stocks, just like most other companies, were not immune to the highly volatile market conditions; However with the market getting back together, the stock price is gradually rising again. The management decisions at AXA should be geared towards maximizing the wealth of AXA Equitable shareholders, which means increasing the value of shares owned by existing shareholders. A good measure of AXA Equitable’s superiority over its competition would be the ability to generate consistent and high total returns that it gives to its shareholders over time. Major company issues will exist with AXA Equitable if management interests are not aligned with those of shareholders. When managers pursue self-serving behavior rather than the maximization of shareholder wealth, several symptoms may become apparent: low stock returns, below-average operating performance, and suboptimal investment decisions. The likelihood of company problems is higher when managerial incentive systems do not coincide with shareholder wealth maximization (Manry Stangeland 2003). It is very important that AXA Equitable management put the interest of the shareholders first. Research suggests that firms with management that pursues its own interests at the expense of shareholders will perform comparatively worse than firms with management whose interests are aligned with shareholders (Manry Stangeland 2003). When a company like AXA Equitable is able to generate wealth for its shareholders year after year, it is able to differentiate itself from the competition and creates better value for its shareholders. Investors who purchase AXA Equitable shares hope that the returns they get on their investments would be higher than what they could get from putting those funds in a risk-free savings account. This shows that the investors are definitely willing to tolerate more risk of ownership in AXA Equitable because of the chance of making higher returns. Assets under management are a measure of the total market value of client assets with the company. AXA as a whole has 1. 46 trillion dollars in assets under management, making it the 13th largest company in the world. One of the biggest advantages of having assets under management as a critical success factor on the balanced scorecard is that focus on increasing the total value of assets under AXA demands continuous efforts and improvement by the management and employees of AXA. This financial measure is not only obvious to AXA management and employees but also those outside the company, i. e. the public. Ranking organization like Fortune 500, use the figures for assets under management as a financial success measure to rank companies against their competition and industries. Constantly increasing the sale of financial products or services is a very important aspect of a company especially one in the financial services industry. AXA Equitable offers a wide range of financial products and services like fixed income investments, equity investments, individual retirement accounts, education planning accounts, life disability insurance and annuities to its clients. The products or services is used to address their needs and help shape their financial futures. The sale of AXA Equitable’s financial products or services is crucial in measuring the financial success of the company. The product or services sale is exactly how the company makes money and becomes profitable. Employees of AXA Equitable earn production credits after each sale of its products or services. Production Credits are the total amount of compensation that AXA Equitable pays to its employees in form of commission for the sale of its products or services. The total amount of production credits earned by each employee is the best way AXA uses to measure employee performance. The Production credits can also serve as a measure of financial performance that AXA Equitable uses as a requirement for other benefits other than commission for its employees. Benefits such as medical plan eligibility, stock options, stocks appreciation rights, AXA Share plan and AXA Equitable Advantage. AXA Equitable should strive for consistent and positive investment results for its investment portfolios. This is very important to a company that deals with attracting new prospects and retaining existing clients. An AXA Equitable client, for example, with a portfolio with poor investment results will not remain with the company if that client can get better results with other financial companies outside of AXA Equitable. AXA Equitable financial advisors manage the managers. Portfolio managers manage the investment portfolios and financial products inside AXA Equitable. Those managers are in turn, managed by the financial advisors that make these investment portfolios available to the clients. The portfolio managers are responsible for picking the equities and bonds available in each portfolio, making changes and the investment results for the portfolios they handle. Clients can benefit from a professional allocated portfolio of AXA Equitable funds that delivers automatic diversification, risk management benefits, quarterly rebalancing, and consistent investment results. The customer perspective section of he balanced scorecard cannot be effective if customer satisfaction is not the number one focus. The first and most important rule for any company in the financial services industry is that the client is of the utmost priority. Financial advisors should learn to put the interest of their clients first before any other interests. Companies in a service industry should understand that customer satisfaction is a great measure of performance. Banks and other companies that deal with providing financial services to the public must first put more emphasis on customer satisfaction, and then on financial return. These companies must ensure that their customers remain loyal to them and develop new markets to attract new customers (Wu, Tzeng, Chen, 2009). A crucial part of maintaining client satisfaction is understanding the clients and their needs. AXA Equitable and its advisors are responsible for making financial recommendations and providing its clients with financial products and services, and financial education to address their needs and help the clients create the retirement of their dreams. AXA Equitable should take sending out client satisfaction surveys to every client on the anniversary date of purchasing a financial product or service very seriously. This Client Satisfaction Index survey is a true measure of customer satisfaction and has helped the company identify the key drivers of client satisfaction. AXA Equitable uses this survey to get client feedback on their financial products and the level of service that their advisors showed the client throughout the year. Value added activity is an important way a company can separate itself from the competition. Companies in the financial services industry primarily offer financial products or services to their clients. Why would a client want to use AXA Equitable’s products and service versus another financial company like American International Group (AIG)? What can AXA Equitable offer that client that no other company can? For example, every financial advisor is required to provide the clients with a contract after every sale of a financial product or service. This contract usually contains copies of signed forms and prospectus. It is better to hand deliver these contracts instead of mailing it to the clients. AIG, a major competition for AXA Equitable, usually sends out thank you cards and client referral forms after every new sale of the company’s financial product or service. This is very effective because it showed that AIG appreciates the client and their business. Value added activities can be as simple as remembering a customers’ favorite drink. Whatever the activity is, managers must find a way to capitalize upon it, as doing so will enable them to gain a competitive advantage. AIG uses this service-oriented strategy to get additional referrals and establish relationships with their clients. BSC is an effective performance measurement tool in performance improvement, which positively affects service quality (Ghani, Said, Laswad, 2010). Exceeding client expectations is another critical success factor on the balanced scorecard that AXA Equitable and its employees should incorporate. When this strategy is taken seriously and done correctly, the clients are satisfied; they stay with the company longer, purchase additional financial products or services and most importantly, refer others to the company. Customer satisfaction offers an immediate, meaningful and objective feedback about clients’ preferences and expectations (Mihelis, Grigoroudis, Siskos, Politis, Malandrakis, 2001). AXA Equitable has provided several tools like eRelationship ® for its financial advisors for client contact. The eRelationship ® platform is a good way for the advisors to have continuous contact and build strong relationships with their clients all year long. For example, doing the simple things like remembering and sending out birthday cards, wedding anniversary cards, seminars invitations, could go a long way in building and maintaining credibility, trust and satisfaction with the clients. When the financial advisor is compassionate and is always willing to help, the clients can now see the true value of the advisors. AXA Equitable needs to generate clients constantly to be successful in the financial service industry. To be successful in this business, the financial advisors have to constantly be in front of their clients. Activities that drive the success of AXA Equitable financial advisors include prospecting and meeting new clients, number of appointments set, running appointments and appointments closed. AXA Equitable uses to 5-3-1 weekly matrix to guide our advisor activities They will be successful every week if they can have five prospecting visits, run three client appointments and sign up one new client†. Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING), another major competition in the financial services industry uses a performance management strategy to keep track of employee activities. The financial advisors are required to submit their performance goals, development plans, and action plans at the beginning of every quarter to their managers. At the end of the quarter, performance reviews are conducted by the managers to measure the activities and production of the financial advisor. The balanced scorecard will help enhance communication between the client and the organization to ensure favorable organization performance (Wong, Lam, Chan, 2009). The internal business process perspective measures efficiency and productivity level within the company. During the client appointments, after the recommendations have been presented to the client, how quickly and efficiently can AXA Equitable provide the financial products or services needed to the client? This can be done with a software called eDox ®. eDox ® is an online database software that the financial advisor carries with him to every appointment with clients. eDox ® contains information about every product that AXA Equitable offers to its clients as well as links to products from other companies that AXA Equitable advisors can also offer to its client. Intra-industry trade (IIT) has been central to increasing the variety of products available to consumers (Moshirian, Li, and Sim. 2005). eDox ® also serves as a tool that top management uses to send out memos, journals, sales ideas, and information on new product launches to every employee of the company. When the client agrees to go ahead with the advisors recommendation and get the financial products; all the applications and forms necessary to make the sale can also be found on eDox ®. A continual review and constant improvement of eDox ® would be very important to keep productivity levels high to become an industry leader. AXA Compliance department is faced with the task of keeping AXA Equitable and its financial advisors compliant with the governing rules made by the Security and Exchange Commission. The Security and Exchange Commission set rules, regulations and guidelines that govern all the companies in the financial services industry. The SEC draws up new regulations periodically that sometimes make business very difficult in the financial services industry, for example, the 90-24 transfer rule, which involves more documentation for transfers of funds between one financial companies. Meeting these guidelines and standards set by the Securities and Exchange Commission is important to eliminate client complaints, trading malpractice, and negative internal and external audit for AXA Equitable Growth within a company like AXA Equitable does not always have to mean more profits because it is in the financial services industry. To become a leader in this industry, the financial company would have to hire more financial advisors to acquire more clients, which in turn leads to more productivity within the company. AXA Equitable should set hiring goals for its managers each year that the company expects to be met because an increase in the number of financial advisors every year will cause an increase in the amount of business written in that year. AXA Equitable and other companies in the financial service industry are constantly rolling out new financial products or services to keep pace with market volatility and unlimited client needs. The companies equip these products with better features and benefits to make them more attractive to the clients and stand out from the competition. AXA Equitable should be committed to providing its financial advisors with the resources necessary to build a lifelong career. Companies facing intensive competition also have a greater impetus to find ways to differentiate their products and services from those provided by competitors, this frequently results in a greater number of product and service lines and differentiation sought through increased customization of products and services in order to meet specific customer desires. (Guilding and McManus, 2002). The Learning center at AXA Equitable is set up to train and support new and experienced financial advisors. For example, when a new financial advisor is hired, the advisor is required to take some necessary courses on AXA Advisors Virtual University (AAVU) to learn everything about the company, its policies and financial product or services. American International Group (AIG) is another company that has a similar new employee development strategy. AIG developed a New Branch Employee Orientation Program where new employees receive online orientation sessions that include information about AIG, as well as company policies and benefits. AXA Equitable should require additional sessions for training and development for their financial advisors. These sessions should include experiences and accomplishments of experienced licensed financial advisors to keep the all other financial advisors motivated and knowledgeable about everything going on with the company and the industry as a whole. Introducing a balanced scorecard in an organization and implementing the critical success factors identified on it will not be an easy task. When firms develop a  scorecard they often start with a strategic performance measurement system which includes a set of financial and non-financial measures. Afterwards, the cause and effect relationships between the different (sets of) measures are developed further to translate the firm strategy to operational activities (Wiersma, 2009). AXA Equitable’s Management and employees will have to cultivate a change initiative. The increasing use of balanced scorecards is changing the way top managers run their companies. When envisioning a firm’s future development, they no longer focus chiefly on monetary success indicators in the financial area, Instead balanced scorecard is designed to complement financial measures of past performance with their measures of the drivers of future performance (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). Companies need to address issues to help assess competition in their industry. The Balanced Scorecard is generally implemented at the corporate, business unit, and individual level, and also becomes a powerful tool for the directors to monitor the implementation of the corporate strategy.

Airflow in Ducts Research Paper Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Airflow in Ducts Research Paper - Lab Report Example Experiment 2 There is a slight fall in pressure in the approach section and the static pressure is at a minimum about one pipe diameter before the orifice plate. The pressure of the fluid then rises near the face of the orifice. There is then a sudden fall of pressure as the fluid passes through the orifice, but the minimum pressure is not attained until the vena contracta is reached. Beyond the vena contracta, there is a rapid recovery in the static pressure. Owing to friction and dissipation of energy in turbulence, the maximum downstream pressure is always lesser than the upstream pressure. The pressure loss so caused depends upon the differential pressure and increases as the orifice ratio decreases for a given rate of flow. Contents Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 Lit erature review†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..6 Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.7 Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.9 Discussion of Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.11 Conclusions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦13 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..15 Introduction Experiment 1 The main intention of this experiment is to explore the relationship between fluids and the media through which they travel by exploring the events that occur in the movement of a fluid from one point to another and the characteristics of the fluid itself. These ma y include may include pressure, momentum, viscosity, turbulence, velocity of the fluid and friction. It also considers the impact of foreign bodies and flow equipment along the path of the fluid This experiment will allow students to learn the method of measuring air flow velocity using Pitot tube. The student will understand the working principle of Pitot tube as well as the importance of Bernoulli equation in deriving and calculating the velocity by exploring the developing boundary layer in the entry length of a pipe. Experiment 2 The main objective of this was to determine the vital discharge coefficient for an orifice plate meter installed within an air flow pipe and using the static pressure tapping’s provided, to investigate the pressure distribution along the pipe downstream of the orifice plate. Literature review Essentially fluid dynamics in physics is considered as a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics, and deals with the relations between velocities and acceleration s and forces exerted by or upon fluids in motion. This field encompasses aerodynamics, (the study of air and other gases in motion) and hydrodynamics (the study of liquids in motion). Fluids are either liquids or gases A liquid is a state of matter in which the molecules are relatively but still are on average close enough together to interact continuously with nearest neighbors so as to maintain a relatively fixed volume. In contrast, a gas exists as a state of matte

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS - Assignment Example The major advantage of using these energy sources is that they are not dangerous to the environment. 2. The use of renewable energy is relevant to Canada since it is also negatively impacted by forces such as environmental degradation particularly global warming as a result of the actions of people. The government in Canada can formulate policies that are oriented towards promoting the use of renewable energy such as solar power to replace fossil fuels that are responsible for causing global warming. Such policies can also enlighten the people in Canada about the importance of protecting the environment through minimising the amount of carbon foot print emitted into the atmosphere. 3. There have been major strides taken both at regional and international level with regards to policy formulation towards the aspect of environmental protection. For instance, the European Union has taken some steps directed towards the protection of the environment. The Lisbon Treaty is a good example that shows the region’s commitment to promoting a safe environment for all. However, policy formulation with regards to environmental protection should be of international nature since geographical boundaries are of little significance in terms of addressing this global problem. There should be consensus among all the countries across the globe about the correct course of action that can be taken in order to address the environmental problems caused by the use of different forms of energy particularly fossil fuels. 4. From my own perspective, I would recommend that governments in different regions adopt policies that are oriented towards the use of renewable energy since it is friendly to the environment. Such policies should be adopted at international level. I would also recommend that the government undertake campaigns that are meant to enlighten the people about the benefits of using renewable energy. Some people lack information about the advantages of using renewable

Moscow Olympics 1980. Urban Policy. Urban Regeneration Speech or Presentation

Moscow Olympics 1980. Urban Policy. Urban Regeneration - Speech or Presentation Example The problem is that although Moscow was experiencing the Soviet war in 1980, its urban infrastructure warranted it an opportunity to host Olympic Games (Real 1996). Other cities did not have the standardized infrastructure to accommodate the event. In return, the event did not run as expected because some nations like the US amongst others boycotted the event. Since then, cities are on the run to standardize their infrastructure so as to be given the opportunity to host Olympic Games. This problem is worth discussing because; if there were other urban areas of the same urban standards as Moscow and not experiencing cold war, the Olympic Games could have been held there. Today every other city in the world has sought urban policy or urban regeneration to be in a position to host international events like Olympic Games. The differing perspective of this topic is that since the Moscow Olympic games of 1980, the society has made Olympic Games more visible and spectacular (Andranovich & Heying 2001). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) which is the body that conducts Olympic sports has to be very specific in outlining the requirements needed by a city to host the event. The staging is done on a manual detailing where it has to be evaluated in the bi dossiers of candidate cities. The demand for hosting Olympic Games has gone up due to the urban transformation or regeneration which has taken place since 1980 when Moscow hosted Olympic Games. Cities have regenerated their transport sectors, technology, cultural programmes, art and environmental management among other critical sectors which can deny them the opportunity to host international events li ke the Olympic Games. Once a city has been selected to host the event, it is monitored closely in planning and preparing for the event by the IOC coordination committee to ensure everything is up to standard. Sometimes the commission