Euthanasia: Death and Medical Staff

â€Å"A dying man needs to die, as a sleepy man needs to sleep, and there comes a time when it is wrong, as well as useless to resist.† -Steward Alsop, Stay of ExecutionThough no one has a choice in their own birth, should we be entitled to a choice when it comes to our death? Therefore, what is Euthanasia? Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering; sometimes called â€Å"mercy killing.† Euthanasia has been one of the most controversial issues in the medical field.As of today, Euthanasia is only legal in three countries: namely Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg; and illegal in all countries remaining. Though it is illegal here in the Philippines, the researcher brought this topic out of curiosity with the issue.Why the researcher chose this topic: The researcher chose this topic to gain and give knowledge on Euthanasia; to give enlightenment to people whether to accept or to oppose Euthanasia.Statement of t he problemThis study entitled â€Å"Perception of selected medical staff on Euthanasia†, will give enlightenment to the certain questions that arise: 1. What is Euthanasia? 2. What are the perceptions of selected medical staff on Euthanasia? 3. A right to life or a right to die?Significance of the studyThe significance of this study is to give enlightenment to the following people:Respondents. Upon or during answering the questionnaire, they themselves  will ponder on the issue at hand. Students. Since euthanasia may seem to be an unfamiliar word to most of the students, this study will impart them knowledge about euthanasia. Administration. This study will both impart them more knowledge and also let them ponder on their own thoughts about euthanasia. Citizens. As a whole, they will be gaining more insight and understanding on the issues from euthanasia.Scope and delimitationThis study will only cover the professional medical opinion of doctors, and anyone in the medical f ield, and also the opinions of the society on Euthanasia. Definition of terms Euthanasia – the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering.

Economic system in Malaysia Essay

Identify and evaluate the nature of economic system in Malaysia. Discuss the rationale of Malaysia’s economic system in terms of utility maximization attainment and pricing mechanism for distribution of goods and services. Kenal pasti dan nilai bentuk sistem ekonomi di Malaysia. Bincangkan rasional-rasional sistem ekonomi Malaysia dari segi pencapaian pemaksimuman utiliti dan mekanisme penetapan harga untuk pengedaran barang-barang dan perkhidmatan. Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy which lies in Southeast Asia. It is composed of 13 states and 3 federal territories and separated by the South China Sea into 2 regions including Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. The country became independent on 31 August 1957. Since then, it has been able to be as one of countries which have the best economic records in Asia, and it has been progressing with an average 6.5% for almost 50 years. From 1971 to 1990, the government strived to eradicate poverty by New Economy Policy (NEP) and outline perspective plan 1(OPP1). The NEP policy was replaced with another program known as National Development Program (NDP) from 1991 to 2000 which the NDP` target was development of a united and just society. From 2001 to 2010, National Vision Policy (NVP) based on its target which was sustainable development performed. In order to achieve long-term plan`s targets should medium term plans (EPU) and short term plans (Annual planning) accurat ely plan and perfectly perform. According Malaysia Economic Monitor, December 2013 Edition High-Performing Education by The World Bank, The Malaysian economy recovered from a soft patch in early 2013 with growth accelerating between the second and third quarters of the year. On a sequential basis, GDP expanded at a quarter-on-quarter, annualized rate of 6.8 per cent over the previous quarter, up from 5.8 per cent in the second quarter and a contraction of 1.1 per cent in the first quarter. This left real GDP higher by 5.0 per cent in the third quarter of 2013 from the same period in 2012, with growth for the first nine months of the year at 4.5 per cent. Growth over the past two quarters came in lower than previous forecasts mainly due to a more negative  contribution from inventories and exports, while consumption performed better than expected and import growth lagged. As a result, GDP growth is now expected to moderate from 5.6 per cent in 2012 to 4.5 per cent in 2013. Growth was driven by robust expansion in private sector consumption and green shoots in external demand, reflected in large contributions from the services and manufacturing sectors. Sectors catering to domestic demand especially services, contributed 3.1 percentage points to total GDP growth. Within services, the largest contributions came from government services, retail trade and real estate and business services. Net exports contributed positively to growth for the first time in two years in the third quarter, supporting growth in the manufacturing sector, which contributed another 1.0 percentage point to GDP growth. Across East Asia, the performance of the Malaysian economy followed a pattern seen in most other regional economies where a weak first quarter was followed by sequential improvements. Notable exceptions were Indonesia and the Philippines, where growth decelerated throughout the year. Malaysia has achieved significant economic and social progress over the past several decades. However, the world economy is changing, and Malaysia needs a fundamentally new economic model in order to become a high-income nation. Our historical growth engines are slowing, we risk being caught in a middle-income trap, our fiscal position is arguably unsustainable while global competition for markets, capital and talent is increasingly intense. Thus the government commence the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) represents a marked change in approach that builds on the Tenth Malaysia Plan and input from the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC). The ETP focuses on key growth engines or National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs). It relies heavily on private sector-led growth, describes very specific investments and policy actions and has a clear transparent implementation roadmap with strong performance management. This strong economic performance has helped improve the quality of life for Malaysians and supported advances in education, health, infrastructure, housing and public amenities. There are three factors to be considered for these strong economic performances which are high income economy, inclusiveness and sustainability. The Government defines high income as a per capita income USD15, 000 or RM48, 000 in 2020, based on the World Bank’s current definition of high income. Malaysia’s per capita gross national income (GNI) is currently about RM23, 700 or USD6, 700. Therefore, achieving high-income status by 2020 will require GNI to grow at an annual real growth rate of 6 percent between 2011 and 2020.The Government’s high-income objective is not just a quantitative target. It is also about Malaysia becoming an advanced, developed nation with an economy possessing the characteristics that are common to developed nations. Specifically, Malaysia will focus on developing large and thriving services sector to supplement the nation’s historical strengths in oil and gas, agriculture and manufacturing. Developing balanced economy with significant contributions from private consumption and investment as well as from government spending and exports. In developed countries domestic demand typically accounts for 50 to 70 percent of GDP. In Malaysia it is currently 53 percent and productivity levels similar to those of other leading Asian economies. Achieving this will require developing an economy that is more heavily driven by skills, innovation and knowledge. These three structural shifts in the economy will support Malaysia’s on-going growth and will enable Malaysia to compete more effectively with other developed nations in the region and beyond. The way in which Malaysia grows to achieve this high-income target will be inclusive in nature, enabling all Malaysians to share in the benefits. The Government will encourage employment-rich growth that creates new higher-wage jobs. We will also invest in education and training to ensure that more Malaysians are able to participate in these new opportunities. A key focus will be on ensuring that substantial improvements are made for people with the lowest household incomes. Specific attention will be paid to lifting the incomes of the bottom 40 percent of households, with a target of increasing the mean monthly income of this group from RM1, 440 in 2009 to RM2, 300 in 2015, as stated in the Tenth Malaysia Plan. The measures we take to achieve high-income status must be sustainable in both economic and environmental terms, meeting present needs without  compromising those of future generations. In economic terms, growth will have to be achieved without running down Malaysia’s natural resources. Malaysia will not achieve high-income status simply through the income derived from extracting Malaysia’s natural resources. In addition, Malaysia’s fiscal policy will be made sustainable. There will be a much stronger focus on investment led by private sector that will avoid reliance on government funding. As stated in the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the Government is committed to reduce its fiscal deficit from 7 percent in 2009 to 3 percent in 2015. In environmental terms, the Government is committed to the stewardship and preservation of our natural environment and non-renewable resources. The Government will ensure that environmental resources are properly priced and that the full costs of development are understood before investment decisions are made. In Malaysia, government had been set up few policies and agencies to promote the industrial sector to the foreign investors and encourage domestic and foreign investment grow up. With promoting industrialization and capital inflow from foreign investment, it will boost up the economic growth and with the policies should ensure that Malaysia’s rapid development towards achieving National Economic Policy and Vision 2020. Malaysia has reached a defining moment in its development path. Vision 2020 is not possible without economic, social and government transformation. To move the country forward, the government has crafted a framework comprising pillars to drive change. Government has few supportive polices that maintain a business environment with opportunities for growth and profits have made Malaysia an attractive manufacturing and export base in the region. The private sector in Malaysia has become partners with the public sector in achieving the nation’s development objectives. There are three main supportive government policies such as liberal equity policy, employment of expatriates, and attractive tax incentives (Siew Ee et al., 1987). Liberal equity policy is the policy to allow foreign investors in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector can hold 100% equity for all investment in new projects, as well as investment in expansion or diversification projects by existing companies irrespective of their level of exports. Employment of expatriates is one of the supportive government policies for foreign companies in the manufacturing sector are allowed to employ expatriates where certain skill not available in Malaysia. With a foreign company paid-up capital above USD 2 million will be allowed up to 10 expatriate posts including five key posts that are permanently filled by foreigners. Malaysia’s government offer a low company tax rate is attractive at 27% and is applicable to both resident and non-resident companies. Malaysia also offers a wide range of tax incentives for manufacturing projects under the Promotion of Investment Act 1986 and the Income Tax Act 1967. The main incentives are the Pioneer Status, Investment Tax Allowance, Reinvestment Allowance; Incentives for the Setting-up of International/ Regional Service- based Operations. An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, and entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. Malaysia has adopting mixed economic systems. Mixed economic system is an economy where there is more government intervention than in a free market economy. Many of the activities of production, distribution, and exchange are undertaken by central government, but where there is more economic freedom for the individual than in a command economy. Mixed economy is also an economic system in which both the state and private sector direct the economy, thus reflecting characteristics of both market economies and planned economies. Most mixed economies can be described as market economies with strong regulatory oversight, in addition to having a variety of government-sponsored aspects. The Elements of a mixed economy is basically to include a variety of freedoms such as to possess means of production like farms, factories, stores, to participate in managerial decisions in cooperative and participatory economics, to travel (needed to transport all the items in commerce, to make deals in person, for workers and owners to go to where needed), to buy the items for personal use, for resale; buy whole enterprises to make the organization that creates wealth a form of wealth itself), to sell (same as buy), to hire (to create organizations that create wealth), to fire (to maintain organizations that create wealth), to organize (private enterprise for profit, labor unions, workers’ and professional  associations, non-profit groups, religions, etc.), to communicate (free speech, newspapers, books, advertisements, make deals, create business partners, create markets).

The-Impact-of-Mergers-&-Acquisitions-on-It-Governance-Structures

958 The Impact of Mergers & Acquisitions on IT Governance Structures: A Case Study Pauline O. Chin Florida Atlantic University, USA George A. Brown Technologies Consultant, Jamaica Qing Hu Florida Atlantic University, USA Chapter 2. 32 ABSTRACT Developing information technology (IT) governance structures within an organization has always been challenging. This is particularly the case in organizations that have achieved growth through mergers and acquisitions.When the acquired organizations are geographically located in different regions than the host enterprise, the factors affecting this integration and the choice of IT governance structures are quite different than when this situation does not exist. This study performs an exploratory examination of the factors that affect the choice of IT governance structures in organizations that grow through mergers and acquisitions in developing countries using the results of a case study of an international telecommunications company.We find that in addition to the commonly recognized factors such as government regulation, competition and market stability, organizational culture, and IT competence, top management’s predisposition toward a specific business strategy and governance structure can profoundly influence the choice of IT governance in organizations. Managerial implications are discussed. Copyright  © 2008, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. The Impact of Mergers & Acquisitions on IT Governance StructuresInTRoduCTIon The business environment has become increasingly complex and competitive due to the rapid advances in technology and globalization of the world economy over the last two decades. In order to survive and to compete on a global scale, organizations have sought to increase their market share through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) both locally and internationally. In a publication by the Bureau of Census (2002) on merg ers and acquisitions in over 41 industries for the year 1998, it was reported that there were 3,882 cases of U.S. companies acquiring other U. S. companies. These data also indicated that there were 483 cases of foreign companies’ acquisitions of U. S. companies at an estimated value of US $233 billion, and 746 cases of U. S. companies acquiring foreign companies at an estimated value of US $128 billion. The trend toward mergers and acquisitions has been clearly demonstrated within the telecommunications industry worldwide (Oh, 1996; Ramamurti, 2000; Trillas, 2002; Wilcox et al. , 2001).Over the last several years, telecommunications companies in North America, Europe, and Asia have looked toward acquisitions and mergers for their survival and growth. During the last decade there has been an increasing number of local and foreign investments in the industry (Oh, 1996; Ramamurti, 2000), due primarily to the deregulation of the telecommunications markets as well as the move tow ard total or partial privatization of telecommunications companies within developing regions (Gutierrez & Berg, 2000; Melody, 1999).Foreign investments in developing countries within Latin America and the Caribbean have increased tremendously over the last 20 years due largely to changes in the regulatory policies within these regions. Historically, companies in Latin America and the Caribbean were owned primarily by the local states. This changed dramatically in the mid-1980s to 1990s as the increasing economic and financial demands on the industry forced companies in the region to look toward foreign investments in order to stay competitive.Gutierrez and Berg (2000) reported that between the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, 14 out of the 24 telecommunications firms in the region privatized their companies. This strategy is also credited with setting into motion the current trend in a majority of the region’s telecommunications companies toward increased partial or total privatizatio n (Gutierrez & Berg, 2000; Ramamurti, 2000). As a consequence of this massive privatization and merger-and-acquisition movement in the telecommunications industry, the role f IT in these organizations has changed significantly over the last decade. The traditional relationship of IT providing support services to individual departments within an organization has evolved into one where IT now plays a broader role in achieving the overall strategic goals of the organization via a focus on global enterprise-wide support that encompasses not only multiple departments, but often different countries and cultures as well.As a result, IT governance in the dynamic and complex business environment has been pushed to the forefront of critical issues facing the management of these organizations, in spite of the fact that little research exists on IT governance that attempts to identify and explain the multiple factors that may affect the choice of IT governance structures in the context of merge rs and acquisitions in developing regions.In order to address these issues, this article examines the evolution of a governance structure within a global telecommunications network organization, based on a framework developed from the extant literature on corporate and IT governance theories and practices. The article addresses the general research question: In the process of integrating foreign subsidiaries into the host company, what are the factors that influence the choice of IT governance structure? The primary purpose of the article is to contribute to a broader understanding 959 2 more pages are available in the full version of this document, which may be purchased using the â€Å"Add to Cart† button on the publisher's webpage: www. igi-global. com/chapter/impact-mergers-acquisitions-governancestructures/9761 Related Content Information and Communication Technology and Good Governance in Africa G. Onu (2007). Encyclopedia of Digital Government (pp. 1026-1034). www. irm a-international. org/chapter/information-communication-technology-goodgovernance/11628/ Internet Voting: Embracing Technology in Electoral Processes Andru Riera, Jordi Sanchez and Laia Torras (2002).Electronic Government: Design, Applications and Management (pp. 78-98). www. irma-international. org/chapter/internet-voting-embracing-technology-electoral/9997/ Identifying Barriers to e-Government Services for Citizens in Developing Countries: An Exploratory Study Subhajyoti Ray (2011). International Journal of Electronic Government Research (pp. 79-91). www. irma-international. org/article/identifying-barriers-government-services-citizens/56100/ The State of Mobile Government in Turkey: Overview, Policy Issues, and Future Prospects Mete Yildiz (2008).Electronic Government: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 236-248). www. irma-international. org/chapter/state-mobile-government-turkey/9708/ The â€Å"Quicksilver Initiatives† as a Framework for e-Government Str ategy Design in Developing Economies Kelvin Joseph Bwalya, Tanya Du Plessis and Chris Rensleigh (2012). Handbook of Research on EGovernment in Emerging Economies: Adoption, E-Participation, and Legal Frameworks (pp. 605-623). www. irma-international. org/chapter/quicksilver-initiatives-framework-government-strategy/64874/

Economic Policy and Vocational Training in the United Kingdom Essay

Economic Policy and Vocational Training in the United Kingdom - Essay Example In comparison to other countries in the European Union the United Kingdom lags in literacy and numeracy rates. At age 16 the 'staying on' rate for students transitioning into vocational education is below desired rates with the majority of students not 'staying on' being from poorer or minority families. The United Kingdom's attempt to change the course of decline in educational outcomes has met with limited success. The United Kingdom has made three major policy changes that should affect literacy rates and staying on rates. The U.K. has chosen to lengthen the compulsory education mandate from 5 to 16 to 5 to 18. The U.K. has also mandated a 'literacy hour' each day where students and teachers focus only on literacy education. The United Kingdom has also mandated that public schools follow the National Curriculum so that all students are educated using the same standards. The desired outcome of these changes are higher literacy rates, increased staying on rates, and standardization of curriculum across the U.K. The long term outcomes of policy changes would ideally give the United Kingdom a competitive advantage in the E.U. marketplace. If the United Kingdom continues with current trends businesses in the U.K. may look elsewhere in the E.U. for qualified workers thus taking business away from the U.K. The end of World War Two and the creation of the European Union have brought changes to how children are educated in the European Union. This paper examines those changes and evaluates current policies in place in the United Kingdom. For the purpose of this study three member states and their educational systems have been examined. The United Kingdom is the focus of this paper while data and educational programs in Germany and France have been examined for comparison. All three countries have compulsory education laws that require children attend school during certain years of childhood. All three have tracks that children can follow with some transitioning into vocational education while others transition into higher education (university study for example). And, all three are European Union member states. How these member states prepare their 'human capital' is important to the European Union as a whole. The move toward open borders, open markets, brings forth the need to have qualified workers in all sectors of the economy. It only makes sense to prepare future workers in the European Union in a similar way with those performing the same jobs having attained the same qualifications. This was not so important pre World War Two when each country had its own isolated economy. The completion of the Chunnel connecting France and England and the completion of the land bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark further opened borders to more commerce. Countries are responsible for preparing their 'human capital' to function (work) in the global market place. As the European Union moves closer to social and economic cohesion it is more important than ever for it is for workers to be trained or educated to function in this new marketplace. Human Capital Human capital is best understood as "the physical means of production" (Becker, G 1993). Investing in human capital is much the same as investing in equipment. The equipment desired to

He similarities and differences between autosomal recessive and Essay

He similarities and differences between autosomal recessive and sex-linked recessive conditions - Essay Example Autosomal recessive conditions manifest themselves only when an individual is homozygous for the affected allele that causes a certain condition The alleles that cause these conditions are not found on the sex genes (the X or Y chromosomes), and the affects are generally masked in the heterozygous parents who possess both a normal, dominant allele and the affected recessive allele. Only offspring with both recessive alleles, meaning both parents are heterozygous carriers of the recessive genes will be affected. These disorders are present in only about 2.5 per 1000 live births, and will not be manifested is the offspring receives a dominant allele from either parent. Sex-linked recessive conditions are found on the sex chromosomes. Females, who have two X chromosomes will only show the condition if, like autosomal recessive conditions, they inherit a recessive allele from both parents. Males, having only one X chromosome, are always affected by X-linked recessive alleles because they have no other dominant allele to mask the affects of the single affected X chromosome (Kumar and Clark 2009, p. 43). The primary difference between autosomal recessive and sex-linked recessive is how males and females are likely to be affected, and how likely each are to inherit, a condition. Examples of autosomal recessive conditions include cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease. Examples of sex-linked recessive conditions include hemophilia and red-green color blindness.... This means that heterozygous parents may be carriers for certain conditions. Only if both parents pass the recessive allele onto the offspring will the offspring express the condition. This results in the chance that two heterozygous parents pass on an autosomal recessive condition of only 25%, whereas there is a 50% chance that a single heterozygous parents will pass on the condition to the offspring (Kumar and Clark 2009, p. 42-43). Examples of autosomal dominant conditions include Huntington’s disease. 3. Describe the differences seen between benign and malignant tumours. Use appropriate examples, with rationale, to support your points. Tumors arise from changes in a single cell that proliferate to affect areas of the body or even the whole body. Oncogenesis is a multistep process in which the malignant phenotype is expressed, which may occur due to both genetic and environmental factors. Anaplasia and metastatis are characteristics of malignant tumors, but no benign tumors . Anaplasia refers to the reversion of cellular differentiation and often includes an increased ability to multiply without differentiation. Metastatsis refers to the capacity of malignant tumor cells to spread across the body to adjacent and non-adjacent organs, often but not always through the bloodstream (Kumar and Clark 2009, p. 49). Benign tumors are nonprogressive and do not metastatis to other areas of the body. Some common examples of benign tumors include the common mole. Moles may sometimes develop malignancy over the course of an individual’s lifetime, however, so regular examinations by a physician are recommended. 4. Define with suitable examples, the following terms: aetiology,

Moral Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Moral - Essay Example The plot of The Importance of Being Earnest centers around deception. Algernon is a wealth bachelor that lives in London. He often pretends to have a friend Bunbury who is sick and lives in the country. Whenever Algernon wishes to escape certain social utieshe is explains that he simply can no because he has to visit his sick friend. He can then escape and enjoy the pleasures that Victorian society called improper. However, his friend, Bunbury, does not exist. Through this form of deception Algernon not only gets pity from his friends he also has the perfect excuse to do whatever he wants. Algernon's believes his best friend is named Ernest. Ernest is actually John Worthing. John Worthing is also using deception to escape his restrictive and boring existence. He tells his friends that he has a wayward brother who lives in London and is often in trouble. Therefore he must go to London to bail his brother out. When John is in London he goes by the name of Ernest. He pretends to be a go od man in country only to be a adan in the city. John wants to marry Gwendolen, but she wants to marry a man named Ernest. When she meets John using the name Ernest she falls deeply in love with him. Gwen's aunt insists on knowing his family background and he is forced to reveal that is real parents left him at a train station and he was adopted by a rich upstanding Victorian family. Algernon has the idea that he will go into the country to visit John and pretend to be Ernest. He is unaware that John has given up his city life and has planned the tragic (but unreal) death of his brother. Deception plays a vital role in this play. If John and Algernon did not lie there would be no play. If each character followed the Victorians standards of society, there would be no plot. While this play is a comedy, Wilde's point is clear: only through deception can people exist in Victorian society. If they did not use deception everyone would surely die from boredom and the suffocating grasp of s ociety. Similarly, Shakespeare Hamlet is based on deception. Hamlet begins with the death of the King of Denmark. He has been killed by his wife and brother. It is Hamlet who is first deceived by his mother. She gets married without telling Hamlet. When Hamlet arrives he is disgusted by his mother's actions. The role of deception is seen throughout the play. Hamlet pretend to be crazy, he pretends not to love Ophelia, and pretends not to know that his mother killed his father. Claudius and Gertrude pretend to care for Hamlet only to try to have him killed. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern pretend to be Hamlet's friends but are really acting like spies for the king. Deception in Elsinore is a symptom of disease society where ambition and greed run rampant and uncontrolled. All the characters in Hamlet must lie to survive and in the end deception kills them all. The societies in Importance of Being Earnest and Hamlet are both portrayed as corrupt. In amletthe court of Elsinore is the representative evil society. It is a toxic environment that breeds blind ambition, betrayal, and evil. Hamlet comments "'Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed; Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely" (Shakespeare Act I, sc ii). Claudius and Polonius are to of the top officials in Elsinore and therefore responsible for the destruction of a good society and the

Essay on "The Act of Writing in the Age of Numbers"

On "The Act of Writing in the Age of Numbers" - Essay Example ces in technology like electric typewriters and social media posts make it increasingly harder because they make readers focus far more on a piece of writings numbers than on its content. While Marches argument seems a little odd, he does make a good point that readers should not get into the habit of thinking that how many words a piece of literature contain, or how many times it has been shared, are what makes it so special. One example which shows very well what Marche argues is that of a post made to Facebook or another social media website by someone who is a celebrity. This post would immediately be shared widely, and would get high numbers that might make it seem of huge importance to everybody. However, those high numbers would not necessarily mean that the article is really important. On the other hand, an post shared by a regular person might actually be very meaningful and highly relevant, despite not being widely shared. This is what Marche talks about when he says that "relevance has become nearly identical with its quantification." (Marche) Another area where words of a different sort matter is that of essays written by students in college courses. As Marche points out, the first attempts to put a word count on an essay assignment resulted in students paying too much attention to it, and not to the essays content (Marche). By making such a big point out of the number of words that an essay contains, a professor might be teaching students to make sure that the essay is the right length first, and make sure it has a good argument second. It would make more sense in this case to focus on what the essay does, rather than its length. In works of literature like poems and novels, Marche argues that far from numbers never having mattered, they are where English literature "begins." (Marche) While he is right that poetry and verse rely on numbering systems to be effective, he also discusses that a lot of poets continually struggled against these

Green Computing Research Project Part 2 Assignment

Green Computing Research Project Part 2 - Assignment Example The total budget of the project is $500,000, from which $200,000 will be applied for procuring the hardware, allied equipment, research document and allied tasks. Whereas, the remaining balance would be utilized for recruitment, project staffing, and allied items. The goal of the project is to provide an extensive research report that would specify the financial analysis, recommendations for green technology implementation and recommended solution forms. The report would contain a list of all the green technologies, with details of only those which would have been agreed by all the stakeholders. The details of green technology would include, but not limited to the implementation process, time and cost along with a cost-benefit analysis. The forms would include only the recommended green technologies along with their formal project proposals. The information that would be provided in the research document would be accurate, concise, consistent and complete in all respects.

INTERMED MACROECON Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

INTERMED MACROECON - Essay Example The members in each group are not always ensconced in their respective groups permanently. They can be shifted in other groups. There are three scenarios of funding adjustments. Funding Adjustment if ADF = ASF In this case, the members of each group are not aware of the equality of ADF and ASF. They are aware of their own financial positions and act according to them. The members of Group 2 need to borrow funds to finance their demand. The members of Group 3 look to lend their excess funds. The lender’s and borrower’s needs are met by financial intermediaries1. As ADF = ASF, the excess funds are just enough to fulfill the borrowing needs of members of Group 2. The financial intermediaries do not need to alter the rates of interest as there is no need to encourage or discourage the lending or borrowing. Funding Adjustment if ADF > ASF In this case, the members of Group 2 and 3 are unaware of this inequality but are fully aware of their own needs. The members of Group 2 b orrow funds from financial intermediaries but the funds available are inadequate to satisfy their demand completely. Financial intermediaries raise the interest rates. ... The financial intermediaries lower the interest rates. This raises the ADF and lowers the ASF and the process continues until both become equal. The completion of funding adjustment makes the economy ready to step in output-price adjustment phase after giving any one of the three following scenarios: GDP = APE = ASF; GDP < APE = ASF; or APE < GDP =ASF. Output-Price Adjustments The producers of each domestic output lie in one of the following groups: Group A – firms facing demand at average annual rates that just equal their current average annual production rates; Group B – firms with excess demand; and Group C – firms facing insufficient demand. Output-Price Adjustments if GDP = APE = ASF The members of Group B and C are unaware on this equality and make decisions according to their own circumstances. The producers of Group B raise their prices and increase their output level. The producers of Group C lower their prices and output. As APE = GDP, the excess deman d for the producers of Group B almost off-sets the demand deficit for the output of producers of Group C. Therefore, this equality has no significant impact on levels of employment, output, interest rates, and prices. Output-Price Adjustments if GDP < APE = ASF The producers of domestic output are unaware of this inequality and act according to their own requirements. The excess demand faced by the producers of Group B is higher than the shortage of demand by the producers of Group C by exact amount that APE exceeds GDP. The price rise from Group B is higher than the price cut by Group C. The overall price and GDP rise. This raises the income level resulting in increased demand and interest rates. The economic profits earned by Group B encourage entry in their

Disaster management (Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment) Essay

Disaster management (Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment) - Essay Example As the urban areas increase in size, the likelihood of occurrence of damage and a level of exposure in buildings and infrastructure increase. Such that even the occurrence of a low intensity event often results in devastating damages up to the national level, especially when they occur close to urban centres. Thus it is understood that beyond the magnitude of their impact, it is the inability of the system to respond appropriately which complicates the problem. The issues faced while undertaking relief and rescue operations for the aforementioned situations owing to regional bottlenecks are the other set of factors that need to be understood for better disaster preparedness. One answer might be techniques like Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (VCA). The VCA is used for identification and quantification of vulnerability, while also measuring the regional capabilities. As a result of the VCA, the programme has been widely accepted to ensure that risks to vulnerable people are reduced. However, despite of its growing use, it is still not factored systematically into development project planning processes resulting a feeling of ambiguousness toward the system and limitation of its use. In this paper, the main conceptual and practical challenges in carrying out Vulnerabilities and Capacities Assessment and Analysis (VCA) are identified and corresponding solutions are suggested to overcome those challenges. Among the various methods often adopted for undertaking the VCA process, the participatory methods have had considerable success when compared to other means of identifying the exact factors involved in most issues. Figure 1 shows a range of participatory research methods that involve the mixture of well-known social science methods and other visualized methods. When disaster strikes a region, the impact of these events is borne by the entire population and hence, the vulnerability within entire cross section of the

Business Idea Journal 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Idea Journal 2 - Essay Example Although massage therapy business has been tapped into by many magnates within Canada, there seems to be a huge market niche in Halifax. Halifax is a capital metropolitan with a population of about 400,000. Approximately almost a third of the whole population seeks for massage therapy services on a regular basis. This overwhelming demand cannot be sustained by the existing massage parlors in the town. Moreover, many would want to visit a massage parlor that can provide additional services such as barbering services. There is, therefore, the need to establish a reputable massage parlor that, besides providing the therapies, other services such as hair cut can also be offered. This projected massage therapy parlor will offer two particular services; massage therapy and barbering services. It will be equipped with machines and apparatus, as well as staff specialized in this type of service delivery. Having explored this idea extensively, it has been found that men tend to seek for massage therapy services more than women in Halifax especially in the evenings when they get out from work. This is not to say that women and children do not. This establishment will target the general population; anyone who requires massage and barbering services. The fact that it is combined with a barbershop will attract and sway customers who probably needed to haircuts into asking for massage therapy. Additionally, the business will be more conspicuous in the market since it would be one of its own that has seen this kind of a combination in Halifax. To reach out to the potential clients, internet resources will be utilized. Social media is one of the many forums that this projected business can be promoted. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram among other electronic platforms would provide opportunities through which the massage therapy business

Energy Society Essay Example for Free

Energy Society Essay The Kyoto Protocol The official name of the Protocol is The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is an agreement by 165 countries for mandatory targets for the reduction of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. These gases—carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and several fluorinated gases are believed to contribute significantly to global warming. The targets of the Protocol are primarily industrialized countries, which are expected to reduce their combined emissions to 95% of 1990 emission levels between 2008 and 2012. The Protocol was agreed on in 1997, although it only took effect in 2005. Between the years 1990 and 2000, the overall emissions of industrialized countries have been reduced by 3%, but largely because of the drastic reduction of emissions from former Soviet countries because of their failing economies. Other industrialized countries overall had an increase of 8% emissions. It is estmated that emissions from industrialized countries will be 10% above 1990 emission levels by the year 2010. For industrialized countries, the emission reduction target of the Kyoto Protocol is only around 5%, and many climate scientists are concerned that this is not enough to curb the effects of global warming. They believe that in order for the agreement to actually help solve the problem, the emission rates would be cut down by 60%. This has led to the opinion that the agreement lacks real value, more so without US backing. However, advocates believe that the Protocol lays out the groundwork for future negotiations. Emission reduction laws were already signed in many countries and would continue to take effect even when the Protocol itself has ceased to exist. â€Å"Happy Kyoto Day† – http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002119.html This site has an unusual approach to the problem of determining the Kyoto protocol’s merit. According to the author, â€Å"In and of itself, the Kyoto treaty wont solve global warming or avert disastrous climate disruption.† The author states that the protocol is essentially a catalyst. It will put the world in an environmentally aware mindset—even if the Kyoto protocol fails, it will force the world to come up with something better. It will also encourage economic changes that strive towards greater efficiency and sustainability. Lastly, the protocol â€Å"is a symbol, a conscious step in the right direction for the planet. â€Å"Kyoto global warming: good stuff or part of a dark conspiracy to dominate the world?† – http://uspolitics.tribe.net/thread/e4978f31-0439-4b70-bbf3-f0ce93a09a42 According to this site, â€Å"global warming alarmism† is indeed the â€Å"mother of all environmental scares.† The author states that it is definitely not settled whether human activity has had any significant effect on global warming; global warming is a theory, not a fact. Some effects of the Kyoto protocol would include â€Å"impoverishing the USA and creating intense disaffection within the ranks of the working classes.† Basic necessities would become very expensive. â€Å"Electricity would double in cost, fuel would skyrocket.† Lastly, the author claims that the Kyoto protocol is a political â€Å"device to lead the Social Communists closer to world dominion.† One of the worst effects that global warming could have would be the rise of sea levels, due to the melting of ice caps and to thermal expansion of the world’s waters. A hundred years from now, if the worst global warming predictions come true, millions of people will be displaced from their homes, which will be submerged. This will have drastic economic and cultural impacts. The effects of the mass displacement on the economy could reach far into the future. The loss of farmland, of business districts, etc. may spawn another (much worse) Great Depression in many areas. Forced cultural dispersion will be commonplace, making the ubiquitous problem of the generation gap much more considerable. Many people who would call themselves environmentalists would not necessarily have good knowledge of environmental issues. They may pay lip service to the environmentalist cause without inconveniencing themselves in any respect to protect it. But I would venture to say that a majority of those who call themselves environmentalists would be willing to go out of their way to ‘serve’ the world. However, it is certain that, as in other controversial issues, there would be much hypocrisy. If by ‘environmentalists’ we mean those who are—or claim to be—‘concerned’ about the environment, then certainly most of them would just be claiming belief in the cause, but be too lazy. In them would be an awareness of an ideal—the preservation of the environment—but a lack of initiative, probably because of the lack of any immediate incentives. References    Kyoto Protocol, 2006, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Greenhouse Office, Available at: http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/international/kyoto/index.html The Kyoto Protocol, New Zealand Ministry for the Environment, Available at: http://www. climatechange.govt.nz/about/kyoto.html Cascio, Jamais, 2006, Happy Kyoto Day, Available at: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002119.html Kyoto global warming: good stuff or part of a dark conspiracy to dominate the world?, 2006, Available at: http://uspolitics.tribe.net/thread/e4978f31-0439-4b70-bbf3-f0ce93a09a42 QA: The Kyoto Protocol, 2005, BBC News, Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/ 4269921.stm The Kyoto Protocol A brief summary, 2006, European Union, Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/ environment/climat/kyoto.htm Kyoto Protocol, 2006, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Available at: http://en.wikipedia. org/w/index.php?title=Kyoto_Protocololdid=80236719 Kyoto Protocol comes into force, 2005, BBC News, Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ science/nature/4267245.stm

Importance of Database Security

Importance of Database Security To be able to manage a huge amount of data effectively and fast, a well organized system is needed to build. It will also need to store and retrieve data easily. Generally, a database system is designed to be used by many users simultaneously for the specific collections of data. Databases are classified based on their types of collections, such as images, numeric, bibliographic or full-text. Digitized databases are created by using management system to make, store, maintain or search the data. Oracle, MS SQL and Sybase servers are mostly used in companies, agencies and institutions for their different purposes of the assets. On the one hand, internetworking technology provides the assets efficiently and effectively among cooperation but it also gives opportunities to hackers or lawbreakers to make profits. So, database security becomes the most important issue and all related agencies have to focus on the availability of their data to the authorized users only. The protection of data from unauthorized disclosure, alteration or destruction is the main purpose of the database security process. Database security is the system, processes, and procedures that protect database from unintended activity that can be categorized as authenticated misuse, malicious attacks made by authorized individuals or processes. Databases have been protected from external connections by firewalls or routers on the network perimeter with the database environment. Database security can begin with the process of creation and publishing of appropriate security standards for the database environment. Particularly database systems in E-commerce, can access the database for exchange and retrieval of information from web applications. As many layers consisted for web application access, it is needed to make sure the security of each layer. In this paper, we are making an attempt to present how to make secure database in each layer of database system of ecommerce in details. Importance of Database Security In this information technology age, it is compulsory for all types of institutions or companies to make avail their information assets online always through databases. However, they must have a policy to divide the levels of users with to which extent they can asset the information. It is vital not to give opportunities to mischievous intruders. Databases are used to provide personnel information, customer information, credit card numbers, financial data and business transactions, etc. The information is very sensitive and highly confidential and must be prevented from disclosure by other competitors and unauthorized persons. The security of data is crucial not only in business but also in even home computers as personal files, details of bank accounts are difficult to replace and potentially unsafe if they will be in wrong hands. Data destroyed by hazards like floods or fire is just lost but handing it in unethical person will have severe consequences. Other threats will be included human errors and espionage. Therefore, the data security starts with strategies of identifying the area of exposure which will be affected. It is important to define who can access what data, who is allowed and who is restricted, whether passwords are used and how to maintain it, what sort of firewalls and anti-malware solutions to use, how to train the staff and to enforce data security. Furthermore, the backup continuity plan should be laid out so that even though the systems fail, the business can be carried out without delay. While constructing the infrastructure security of a company, database security should be well considered. Database is very crucial to most enterprises at present days; the damage of database will have tragic impact on it. Unsecured systems will make hurt both the company itself and its clients. Based on the research done by American National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) in 2000, the continuous attacks on U.S. e-commerce system are increasing. The most interrupted system is Microsoft Windows NT systems, but UNIX based operating systems have also been maltreated. The hackers are utilizing at least three identified system weaknesses to be able to achieve illegal access and download information. Even though these vulnerabilities are not freshly innovated and the mischievous activities of hackers had been in progress for quite long before the sufferer became noticed of the intrusion. The insecurity of the database can affect not only the database itself, but also the other running systems which have the relationship with that database. The process of an intruder can be first to get access to the poorly safe database, then use strong built-in database characters to get admission to the local operating system. In this way, other trusted systems connecting with that database will be easily attacked by the intruder. Database Security in E-commerce database Database system cannot stand alone and it needs to depend on many other systems. Hence, database security is a combination of many other associated and correlated systems are included as well. The following figure is a normal schema of E-commerce Company. In figure 1, the four basic layers are existed in order to defend a database system. These systems are the functioning system on which the database system runs. Firewall is a commonly applied mechanism to obstruct the interruption from the external network. Web server and web application offer numerous services to the end user by accessing the database. Network layer is the medium in which the data is transmitted. Operating system layer Operating system security is a very important characteristic in database administration. Some dominant features of database systems will possibly be a crack for the underlying operating system. Thus, the responsible person should very thoroughly scan the relations between a feature of database and it is operating system. According to Gollmann, there are five layers in Information Technology system. These layers are application, services, operating system, os kernel and hardware. Each layer is constructed on top of other fundamental ones. As the database system is at the service and application layer, it is existed in above the operating system layer. If the weaknesses of the operating system platforms are identified, then those weaknesses may lead to illegal database access or manipulation. Database configuration files and scripts are at server level resources and they should be sheltered severely to ensure the reliability of the database environment. In many database environments, membership in Operating system group is authorized full power of controlling over the database. To keep away from mistreatment and exploitation of the membership, those users membership and access to the database should be warranted frequently. One of the responsibilities of Administrator is to organize the settings of the operating system or to adjust the size of the buffer and the timeout period, so as to avoid the rejection of service attack stated previously. Most operating system vendors supply system patches generously and fast if any vulnerability has been detected on the system. Another weakness which is often ignored by the administrator is to bring up to date the operating system with the latest patches to abolish the newest revealed holes of the system. Network layer Data has to be transmitted through the network including local LAN and Internet when web applications communicate with database or other distributed components. The two major network transmissions are from user to web server, and from the web application to web database server. All these communications must be completely protected. Although the administrator can secured the network in local domain, the global internet is unmanageable. Encryption is another influential technology. It is set aside not only the invader cannot interrupt but also the encrypted data is unreadable and tremendously hard to presume or decrypt. The matching key can only be to decrypt the cipher text. The two means to apply encryption in database system are of the one way to use the encryption options provided by database products and another way to obtain encryption products form trusted vendors. In addition, one more approach for a safety connection is practicing the secured protocols above TCP/IP, for example, the technology of Ipsec and VPN (Virtual Private Network). The personal traffic in the course of the public internet by means of encryption technology can be provided by VPN. In generally, SSL (secure sockets layer) can be used as another way for cryptography on top of TCP/IP. Safe and sound web sessions can be obtained by Netscape. SSL has newly developed into Transport Layer Security (TLS) that make certain no other invasion may snoop or interfere with any communication. Utilization of SSL can help to validate and protect web sessions, but the computer itself cannot be safe. Web servers There are dissimilarities in functions of Web programs and common programs in area of safety. The major reason is safety for Web application program as the flaw is not easy to perceive. Web server that keeps the external disturbances is located in the middle of the application server and firewall. It can be applied as intermediary to get the data that we approved to be available. For the time being, the software commonly used in web applications is CGI (Common Gateway Interface). The web server can do a different function in easier way as it is uncomplicated. It is user-friendly as a web page counter. Moreover, for example as reading the input from the remote user, it can be used as multifarious to access the input as uncertainty to a local database. CGI proceeds the outcome to the user after retrieving the database. On the other hand, it is also risky since CGI scripts permit software applications to be carried out inside the web server. The well-known language for CGI scripts is Perl since it is simple to build applications and parse the input from the user. Nevertheless, Perl can be exploited by wicked users as it grants some forceful system commands. The invader can simply demolish the system if CGI was weakly executed by web server. This may be a huge hazard to the system as someone can easily eliminate the classified files from Web server as effortless to contact. To get rid of the intimidations, there are several ways to prevent these. The CGI scripts should be prohibited by abuser to write, and the arrangement should be done to CGI program that can be performed as a single way of directory. It should also be cautious in writing the CGI script. No more longer usage of CGI applications such as sample applications should be disposed as these are approachable to Web server and major intentions for invaders since older CGI samples have safety gaps. Without comprehensive handlings, default settings of Web application server can be a huge imperfection of the system if the database system networks with CGI. There need to make sure the system for which extent of operation is unapproved to the clients when a use logs into the database. Web serve with verification methods built in CGI is the most valuable way which means to prepare a CGI script with login name and password to prevent the files. By doing this, the files are protected to the web server apart from readable only. The safety gaps should be checked firmly and regularly to all the scripts even though these are obtained by self-developed, downloaded or bought from vendors. Firewalls The major significant layer to slab the external interruption of the system is Firewalls. Packet filter and proxy server are the two types of firewall mechanism. The connected data between the application and database are divided into packets which consist of much information in its headers, for examples, sources, destination address and protocol being used. A number of them are cleaned as with which source addresses are unbelievable to access to the databases. The arrangement of firewall should be done to access only one or few protocols which is helpful for application queries such as TCP whereas the other packets are choked-up firmly. Accordingly, the smallest amount of risks is maintained for the vulnerable system. Moreover, the ping of fatal loss will be kept systematically if the firewall is constructed to abandon the approached ICMP demand. The potential invaders should be marked out by reserving log files at the firewall. There are two connections in Proxy server. The first one is the connection between cooperations database and proxy server. Another one is the connection between proxy servers also provided the log and audit files. On the other hand, there are very hard to build up strong firewalls, and also too huge and tough to investigate the audit tracks. Database server Database servers are the fundamentals and essentials of greatest values in each and every sector of Education, Health, Military, Manpower, Economics, Modern Arts and Sciences, Information Technology, Electronic Businesses, Financial Institutions, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System, and even universally comprised of sensitive information for business firms, customers, marketers and all stakeholders. The functions and purposes of Database servers are highly depended on the users of their particular intentions for applying the services provided by the operating systems. Some good safety practices for Database servers are to: use multiple passwords to access multi-functions of a server such as using one password to access the single system for administration; apply a different password for another operation; be audited for each and every transaction of the database; utilize application specific user name and password and should never use a default user name or password; back up the system thoroughly for late recovery in case of accidentally break down Allowing to know the end-user for the name and location of database is very worthless. In addition, exposing physical location and name of every database can also be a huge danger to the system. To cover up these issues, we should better practice the service names and pseudonyms. The several copies should be done for the important files which control the accessibility to the database services. Each and every copy should be also connected to a meticulous user group. Moreover, the members of each group should be allowed to access only the relevant documents concerning them. Conclusion The institutions, organizations and business firms mainly stored their important information and valuable assets as digital formats in online related excellent databases. The safety and security issues of Databases become strongly an essential role in the modern world for enterprises. To save from harm of database is to prevent the companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ untouchable information resources and digital belongings. Database is the multifarious system and very complicated to handle and difficult to prevent from invaders. Last, but not the least, database protection is also to be taken significantly to the confidentiality, availability and integrity of the organizations like other measures of the safety systems. It can be guarded as diverse natures to cover up. Although auditing is critical, but analysis is also very tough while potential analytical tools will be an enormous contribution to protect the online rationality of database system. There should be reinforced to the corporate safety and security issues. Means of verification and encryption will play the essential role in modern database precaution and safety system.

MNE Selection Techniques for International Assignments

MNE Selection Techniques for International Assignments Chapter1 Introduction The world has become the global village and globalization has become an important tool for the organizations to be successful in this rapidly changing world. So the coordination between different cultures and people with different backgrounds is increasing in a different multinational organization day by day. So it is very important to study that how the organizations deal with the multicultural set ups within an organization. During the past few decades the rapid changes in economic, social and political environment of the world has led organizations towards the globalization. According to Harvey Novicevic the increasing international activities and global competition resulted in increase in globalization. The process of recruitment and selection has always been very important in any organization. According to Dowling (1999) hiring and placing people in positions where they can perform effectively for the benefit of the organization is the goal of most organizations whether they are domestic or international. Heraty et al (1997) suggested that, in these new changing global condition increasingly, many organizations are transforming jobs into new structures which are more likely based on self directed work teams, made up of empowered individuals with the diverse background are replacing traditional specialized workers. So in this new challenging environment competition is increasing day by day and organizations need such personalities who can adjust themselves with the change. Burack and Singh (1995) also suggested that firms need adaptable people who can rapidly adjust themselves to the changing environment. So the people who are ready to change with the environmental changes always give advantage to the organization, and these kinds of people are very fruitful for the organization. According to ones and Viswesvaran (1997) in this rapidly changing world where the change is taking place every minute the organizations have been sending their members to other parts of the world to complete their assignments. According to Aycan and Kanungo expatriate is an employee of a business or government which is sent abroad to accomplish their organizational goals for temporary period which is more than six months and less than five years. International assignments not only give benefit to the individual expatriate but it also give the competitive advantage to the organization in the global environment. For many organizations sending of expatriate to the other countries to gain competitive advantage in global environment is the part of their overall human resource plan. (Caligiuri Lazarova, 2001). So keeping in view the importance of an expatriate the selection process of an expatriate is also very important step for an organization. According to Dowling the failure of expatriate is due to the selection error. This tells that selection plays an important role for a successful expatriate. So with the changing world it is need to have such staff who can adjust itself with the change. In this paper an effort is being made to give the importance of selection techniques for expatriates within a multinational organization. 1.1 Key purpose of study The world is globalizing day by day and now it is also called global village and specifically UK has become one of the biggest multicultural countries and there are a lot of multinational organizations working in UK With the changing world more of MNEs are sending their expatriates in other parts of the world to accomplish their goals and to gain competitive advantage in global world. As the selection is the most important step for any organization to choose its expatriate and it is always important for MNE’s to choose or select the right person for the given task. In fact an expatriate failure is often result of a selection error, and often compounded by in effective expatriate management policies. (Dowling Welch Schuler, 1999). The key purpose of this study is to show the importance of selection techniques for a MNE when selecting an expatriate for an international assignment. 1.2 Aims The aim of this study is to explore the proper selection techniques which can improve the performance of an expatriate and help him to retain. 1.3 Objectives: To outline the factors that influences the selection of expatriates. To examine different selection methods used for expatriate selection. To discuss in detail, issues of cross cultural variation in selection process of expatriates. 1.4 Hypothesis The hypothesis which is developed for this study is stated as below Without doing proper selection of expatriate much will be poor for the company and result in loss of company. 1.5 Theory an overview There has been a lot of work done on selection techniques of expatriates in last couple of decades. Selection is the most important part of the success of any expatriate, and if the selection is not according to the needs of organization then the failure chances of expatriate. Dowling says that redirecting future performance potential when hiring or promoting staff is challenging at the best time but if operating in foreign environment certainly adds other level of uncertainty. So if the process of selection is beholds specific importance within a domestic organisation then it must have some extra importance while choosing an international staff. 1.6 Selection The selection is kind of prediction of the organization’s peoples or decision makers keeping in view the profile of the candidate for the particular job (Hackett, 1991). The selection is a complete process of analyzing and viewing the profile of the employee and then selecting for the required job. Moore (2006) discussed this as the selection is the whole process which includes choosing the right candidate for the position from those persons who have been recruited. This involves testing and evaluating the skills of an individual is required for the particular job. According to desler (2000) the selection is the process in which the recruited individual is whittled down by using screening tools like assessment centers, interviews, and different tests. 1.7 Methods of Selection: There are various selection techniques available, and for the selection procedure all of these depending on the situation and culture of the organization. Some of these selection methods are given below. Interviews Tests Assessment centres (Beardwell and Holden, 2001) So the above mentioned procedures are used by different organizations depending upon the nature of job and the normal practice they use within the organization. 1.8 Approaches for the Multinational There are four approaches for the recruitment and selection in any multinational organization. These four approaches are given as follows. Ethnocentric: It is the type of the recruitment approach in which all the key positions and top management is filled by the nationals of the parent company. According to this approach all the top management decisions and the key strategies of the companies is made by the parent country headquarters. Polycentric: It is the type of recruitment approach in which the host country fills all the key positions in the subsidiary. Each subsidiary is treated as the separate national entity. But all the key financial decisions are taken by the parent country headquarter. Regiocentric: It is the type of recruitment approach in which regional talent is preferred. For example if the person is required on for the development of any product then the person who will be recruited will be from the host country. Geocentric: This is the kind of approach where the persons are recruited without seen any race, religion or region. This approach is international based and is getting in practice in most of the developed countries like UK, USA etc. 1.9 Methods of international selection The different methods of selection for the expatriate selection which most of the multinational organizations use is as follows Psychometric Tests Assessment Centres Coffee Machine System 1.10 Selection of an Expatriarate The selection of expatriate is a bit different from the local selection of a local manager. For the selection of an international manager there are a lot of extra factors which needs to be considered by the selectors. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs. (Hailey 2000, pg; 90). During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate within the expatriate’s mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other tends to stop him from going. (Baruch 2005, pg 129). 1.11 Factors involve in selection of an Expatriate. According to Dowling and Welch the factor involve to determine an appropriate expatriate selection process are as Country-cultural requirement Language MNE requirements Technical Ability Cross Cultural Suitability Family Requirements (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999) So keeping in view all the above mentioned factors an expatriate should be selected by a multinational organization. 1.12 Culture: (Kluckholn Strodtbeck 1952) define culture as, â€Å"a set of basic assumptions-shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (and internal integration- which have evolved over time and are handed down form one generation to the next.’’ 1.13 Corporate culture Corporate culture includes the behavioral patterns, concept, values, ceremonies and rituals that take place in the organization. It gives the members of the organization meaning as well as the internal rule of behavior when these values and beliefs customs’ rules and ceremony are accepted shared and circulated throughout the organization. (Trompenaars Turner 1997, pg 157-181) 1.14 Why consider culture? Adjusting in a new culture is always difficult and it causes problems for both expatriate and family members, therefore it is important for an International HR to look for the similarities of the two cultures in order to deal with the challenges in the business world key activity. dowling, welch,schuler, 1998 pg 132 Recent research shows that the expatriates who are unable to cope with the challenges find it difficult to adjust and incur costly implications. (Caligiuri, 1997, pg: 45-67). The factor of culture is very important for an expatriate selection process and HR managers will have to select such expatriate who is adjustable with the different cultured people and work with them for the cultural dimension Hofstede and Trompenaars cultural dimensions are given as follows 1.15 Hofstede’s four dimensions (1967-1973): Gooderham Nordhang (2003). ‘Culture is always a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partially shared with people who live or lived within the same environment, which is where it was learned. It is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.’ Hofstede surveyed 116,000 IBM employees in 40 different nations about their preferences in the work environment. The analysis revealed the results creating 4 dimensions: Power distance: The dimension indicates the extent to which a society expects and accepts a high degree of inequality in institutions and organizations. Uncertainty avoidance: This refers to the degree to which a society prefers predictability, security and stability. Individualism-Collectivism: this dimension relates to the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families rather than being bound to some wider collectively such as extended family. Masculinity-Femininity: Masculine societies value assertiveness, competitiveness and materialism as opposed to the feminine values of relationships and the quality of life. 1.16 Trompenaars’ cultural dimensions: Trompenaars concluded four cultural dimensions that relate to the question of inter-personal relationships and work-related values Gooderham Nordhang (2003). Universalism vs. Particularism Communitarism vs. Individualism: Specific vs. diffuse Achievement vs. ascription: So these four dimensions of Trompenar also affect the selection process of an expatriate for international assignments. 1.17 Strategic choices in expatriate selection: Organizations normally have some strategic choices while selection of an expatriate. These strategic choices are mentioned below. Internal recruitment versus external recruitment Individuals versus teams Technical qualification versus other selection criteria Extrinsic rewards versus intrinsic rewards. Chapter 2 Literature Review: In this chapter researcher tried to discuss all the related studies which are done in past and are available in literature. A lot of work has been done in the literature on the topic of selection. Before proceeding to the actual topic it is necessary to look at the different methods of selection which an organization uses and see that what are the different techniques and criteria which are used for the selection of staff. 2.1 Selection: Moore (2006) discussed this as the selection is the whole process which includes choosing the right candidate for the position from those persons who have been recruited. This involves testing and evaluating the skills of an individual is required for the particular job. According to Dessler (2000) the selection is the process in which the recruited individual is whittled down by using screening tools like assessment centers, interviews, and different tests. 2.2 Expatriate selection: According to (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999, pg: 154) Multinationals take great care in their selection process, however predicting future performance potential of the concerned staff is challenging at the best of times especially operating in foreign environments adds another level of uncertainty. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs. (Hailey 2000, pg; 90). During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate within the expatriate’s mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other tends to stop him from going (Baruch 2005, pg 129). 2.3 Importance of an Expatriates and International Assignments: The world is globalizing very rapidly and change has become necessary for the organization to survive and to gain competitive advantage internationally. According to Harris and Brewster, 1999. The rapidly globalizing world has increased the need for the international assignments and many of the organizations started considering international management experience for the top management. So the international assignments are becoming an important part for the success of an organization to gain competitive advantage. As discussed by Chen, Tzeng Tang, 2005 that organizations internationalize their operation to gain success and to increase its market value internationally and for this purpose an organization needs effective expatriate who can perform its task properly. In this new era the importance of expatriate has increased because expatriates are the ones who can give an organization proper international exposure and make the organization successful. 2.4 Selection Process: One of the most studied areas for the expatriate selection is the selection process of the expatriate. The selection of expatriate has always been difficult procedure for the multinational organizations. Swaak quotes one HR executive who said. â€Å"My job is to find people in a hurry.† So this system is highly crisis-oriented and unsophisticated. Swaak , 1995. Further confirming the problems for the nature of the selection process Still and Smith (1997) report the results of Australian research, which shows that there were a number of different ways through which expatriates were selected. They studied that the most impressive and important form of selection or evaluation of the expatriate was recommendation of the person by the line manager including chief executive officer or specialist persons. Mostly expatriates in the multinational organizations in a knee-jerk reaction to the need to fill a new or unexpected vacancies overseas. Actually there are well informed intercultural trainers or a good HR professional who selects the expatriates but basically it is HR department within multinational organization who selects the expatriate finally. Managements choose the most technical and competent candidates which makes the expatriates successful internationally. (Shilling, 1993 pg 58). 2.5 Types of selection Process: Psychometric Tests Assessment Centers Coffee machine system 2.5.1 Psychometric Tests: According to Passmore, 2008 Psychometrics are the widely used testing method for the selection of the employee and personal development. The psychological test is always important for the selection of the employee especially for the selection of an international manager. According to the validity of psychological tests is disputed. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) the psychologists the variation between the different natured job test is very small (Schmidt and Hunter , 1998). According to a survey done by The Graduate Recruitment in 2007 two third or about 67 percent of 219 respondents surveyed said that the results of psychometric test had some influence on recruiting and selection decisions, and 24 percent said that it has strong influence, and only 2 percent said that these test does not have any influence. So the above figure shows the importance of psychometric tests. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) psychological assessment increasingly involves the application of tests in different cultural contexts, either in a single country or different countries. Now a day the demand of cross cultural assessment test is increasing due to the increasing factor of globalization to gain competitive advantage in international market. According to Mendenhall and Oddou, 1985 one of the important option for evaluating the selection process is the use of psychological tests and evaluation dvices. There are number of instruments available to measure the stress level of an individual. Figure: 2.1 (Source: article by Jonathan Passmore, Bread and butter â€Å"How to use psychometrics for coaching†) In figure 2.1 the real importance of psychometric test is shown. Psychometric tests are reliable that the selected person will be the one on whom one can rely. And obviously these kinds of tests are valid for any kind of job. The most important point in this test is that it does not include any biasness and the selectors cannot show the biasness while selecting on the basis of psychometric tests. These tests are also standard for different jobs. So all the above mentioned qualities and factors involve in the psychometric tests. In other words one can say that almost all the abilities present in an individual’s mind can be noticed, and the end result will always ends up in the right selection of expatriate. 2.5.2 Assessment Centre: As the assessment centers are considered to be one of the best selection techniques so according to Sparow and Brewster assessment centers will be the best idea as a selection technique to assess the competency of international managers. This is rarely the case, however. According to sparrow (1999) Even where assessment centers are used to select the managers in international settings, the key cross cultural assessment centers seems to be to design the assessment process so that it is very adaptable to local environment in which it will be operated. So there is need of cross culture assessment centers in which international managers can be assessed accordingly with the changing environment. Krause and Gebert (2003) have done study on international literature on the conception, operation and evaluation of assessment centers. He examined 281 German firms whose language was German and he compares them with the previously studied firms of United States of America. Study showed that both the American and German firms use the assessment centers but the purpose of some of them was different from the basics. For example the competencies assessed for job analysis might be identified through the use of interviews with job incumbents in 79% of US firms and only 39% of German firms. Most of the German firms rely on interviews for the selection of international managers or expatriates. so the assessment centers are considered to be an important process for expatriate selection. 2.5.3 Coffee Machine System This system was the idea of Harris and Brewster (1999) the key findings of the study show the reality of the selection process for expatriate selection in the organizations. In many organizations the selection process falls under what we call ‘coffee machine system’ and this system is the most common form of expatriate selection. What happens is that the senior line manager is standing by the coffee machine when he/she is joined by the colleague: ‘How’s it going?’ ‘Oh, you know, overworked and underpaid.’ Actually Jimmy in Mumbai has just fallen ill and is being flown home. I don’t know who I can choose to work over there at very short notice of time. It is driving me crazy. ‘Have you met Simon on the fifth floor?’ he is working in the same line of work. He is very good and bright and looks like going a long way. He was telling me that he and his wife had great holiday in Goa a couple of years ago. He seems to like India. Could be worthy to speak to him. Hey, thanks I will check and speak to him. ‘No problem. They don’t seem to be able to improve this coffee though, do they?’ What happen in the organization next is that the manger will take some decision and will have informal discussion with his seniors about Simon and then that man will be called and interviewed and selected for the required position. Accordingly HR department and financial department will be involved in the process and the formal and systematic process will be started. This method is rarely used in the organizations in particular cases when there is an urgent need to fill the position of expatriate. 2.6 Niche Assessments According to Bolt (2008 ) Many assessment venders specialize in certain niches and offer off-the-shelf products to meet clients’ testing needs. However, vendors can find such persons or individuals for the company who can fit in the organizations new environment and can coop with the new organization’s culture. Testing is the most important part of the application process of the candidate because testing gives the good idea of the individual’s abilities and competencies. 2.7 Factors involved in selection Process: There are number of factors which affect the performance of expatriate. Dowling, Welch, Schuler, (1999) recognised some of the important and most affective factors and these are the factors which involved to determine an appropriate expatriate selection process. All the factors are shown in a model below. Cross-cultural Suitability MMNE requirements SELECTION DECISION FFamily requirements LLanguage TTechnical Ability CCountry-cultural requirement Figure: 2.2 Source: (Factors in expatriate selection, pg 77 Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999). Figure 2.2 shows the factors which are required for an expatriate each of the above mentioned factors is discussed in detail below. 2.7.1 Technical Ability: According to Hays, 1971 All expatriates are assigned abroad to complete some task weather its building a dam, running some business, or teaching it all depends on the personal technical ability to perform that task. Obviously it is important to consider the individuals’ personal ability to perform the required task assigned to the expatriate. So in selection it is another important area which needs to look at. Different research findings show that the multinational organization give a lot of importance to the technical abilities of the individuals going abroad for international assignments at the time of their selection. According to Harvey and Novicevic,(2001) that technical and functional expertise has been the primary criterion for selecting expatriate managers for assignments. Hixon found that the selection was based on technical ability and willingness to reside abroad. If the individual is selected without keeping in view its technical ability. It can create the big problems for the multinational organizations to complete its related task or assignment. Reinforcing the emphasis on technical skills is the relative ease with which the multinational may assess the potential candidate’s potential, since technical and managerial competence can be determined on the basis of past performance of the individual who is going to be selected as expatriate. In fact domestic selection cannot be equal to the international selection but person can be selected on the basis of past domestic records which he has performed domestically as the basic criteria is always the same in all the multinational organizations so on the basis of past abilities there should not be any problem for the organizations to select the expatriates. This approach is also found by Foster and Johnsen,(1996) who report the results of the research into the expatriate selection practices for the newly internationalized UK organizations which shows that organizations keep in view the technical skills, and previous domestic records while selecting expatriate for international assignments. 2.7.2 Cross Cultural Suitability: The environment and the culture where an expatriate is going is an important factor for an expatriate. So the selectors of the expatriates should always consider the factor of culture for the expatriate. Although these factors does not guarantee for an expatriate for his successes but if these factors are not considered it can lead it towards the failure of expatriate. If the culture is considered then it is always important to study the Hofsted’s dimensions for cross culture and Trompenaar’s dimensions so these researches are explained in detail as follows. 2.7.3 Culture: Culture is always important for any expatriate selection, so it is very necessary for HR managers and selectors to keep the factor of culture in view while selecting expatriate for international assignments. There have been a lot of studies on culture and there are a lot of different definitions of culture some of them are given below. (Kluckholn Strodtbeck 1952) define culture as, â€Å"a set of basic assumptions-shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (and internal integration- which have evolved over time and are handed down from one generation to the next.’’ The life style of people living in the society is called culture it includes the social, economical, political, religious, life style of the individuals in the country. According to Drennan, 1992 â€Å"whatever is going around is called culture.† Culture is the way of life of a group of people. There are obvious differences between the different cultures such as language, dress, religion, beliefs, and behaviours of the people, and there are also implicit differences between the two cultures such as in values, assumptions about how things should be. so these different degrees of explicitness are often called the culture.(ScullionLinehan,2005). So the culture is very important factor for the selection of expatriate because the individuals move from one culture to another culture for the completion of their assignment. 2.7.4 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Greet Hofstede’s culture’s consequences (1980, 2001) explores the differences in thinking and social action at the country level between members of 50 nations and three regions. Hofstede originally used IBM employees’ answers to company attitude survey conducted twice, around 1968 and 1972. The survey generated more than 116,000 questionnaires with the number of respondents used in the analysis being approximately 30,000 in 1969 and 41000 in 1973. Hofstede identified and validated four cultural dimensions from respondents patterned answers. For each dimension, he presented possible origins as well as predictors and consequences for management behavior. Hofsted’s four dimensions are as follows Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism versus Collectivism Masculinity versus Femininity Another dimension which is fifth dimension presented by Michael Bond is Long term versus Short term Orientation was subsequently developed from a research to accommodate non-western orientations and has been adopted from the Chinese Culture Connection study. Power distance: The dimension indicates the extent to which a society expects and accepts a high degree of inequality in institutions and organizations. It refers to the relationship between supervisors and subordinates. It reflects the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. In organisations an illustration of a high power distance score is generally represented as a highly vertical hierarchical pyramid. Subordinates are often told or ordered about a particular task but they are not normally entitled to discuss the decision made by the top management so basically the meaning of power distance is that higher the person in hierarchy the more difficult will be this person to approach. So there are some barriers for that person to see their top management. The barriers can be of different ways like the person barriers or the employee is not allowed to see the top manager or they are not allowed to attend the high managerial level meetings in which decisions are made. So basically power distance shows the distance between a supervisor and his employee. Uncertainty avoidance: This refers to the degree to which a society prefers predictability, security and stability. According to Hofsted the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. He argued that high uncertainty avoidance is expressed for example by a company’s need for regulations which tends to minimize in the behaviour of its employees. Company rules are such thing which cannot be broken by the employees even if he think that breaking the rule is in company’s best interest in such sort of environment the work stress is more and uncertainty avoidance is high. On the other hands if the employees are less affected by uncertainty is called low uncertainty avoidance. Individualism-Collectivism: this dimension relates to the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families rather than being bound to some wider collectively such as extended family. Hofsted ask the IBM individuals that how important is to keep in view his work goals rather than the organisation. If there is preferred work goals stress dependence on organisation. For example good physical working condition, good ventilation enough space individualism in the work place can be seen. Collectivism can be seen in preference of collective organis MNE Selection Techniques for International Assignments MNE Selection Techniques for International Assignments Chapter1 Introduction The world has become the global village and globalization has become an important tool for the organizations to be successful in this rapidly changing world. So the coordination between different cultures and people with different backgrounds is increasing in a different multinational organization day by day. So it is very important to study that how the organizations deal with the multicultural set ups within an organization. During the past few decades the rapid changes in economic, social and political environment of the world has led organizations towards the globalization. According to Harvey Novicevic the increasing international activities and global competition resulted in increase in globalization. The process of recruitment and selection has always been very important in any organization. According to Dowling (1999) hiring and placing people in positions where they can perform effectively for the benefit of the organization is the goal of most organizations whether they are domestic or international. Heraty et al (1997) suggested that, in these new changing global condition increasingly, many organizations are transforming jobs into new structures which are more likely based on self directed work teams, made up of empowered individuals with the diverse background are replacing traditional specialized workers. So in this new challenging environment competition is increasing day by day and organizations need such personalities who can adjust themselves with the change. Burack and Singh (1995) also suggested that firms need adaptable people who can rapidly adjust themselves to the changing environment. So the people who are ready to change with the environmental changes always give advantage to the organization, and these kinds of people are very fruitful for the organization. According to ones and Viswesvaran (1997) in this rapidly changing world where the change is taking place every minute the organizations have been sending their members to other parts of the world to complete their assignments. According to Aycan and Kanungo expatriate is an employee of a business or government which is sent abroad to accomplish their organizational goals for temporary period which is more than six months and less than five years. International assignments not only give benefit to the individual expatriate but it also give the competitive advantage to the organization in the global environment. For many organizations sending of expatriate to the other countries to gain competitive advantage in global environment is the part of their overall human resource plan. (Caligiuri Lazarova, 2001). So keeping in view the importance of an expatriate the selection process of an expatriate is also very important step for an organization. According to Dowling the failure of expatriate is due to the selection error. This tells that selection plays an important role for a successful expatriate. So with the changing world it is need to have such staff who can adjust itself with the change. In this paper an effort is being made to give the importance of selection techniques for expatriates within a multinational organization. 1.1 Key purpose of study The world is globalizing day by day and now it is also called global village and specifically UK has become one of the biggest multicultural countries and there are a lot of multinational organizations working in UK With the changing world more of MNEs are sending their expatriates in other parts of the world to accomplish their goals and to gain competitive advantage in global world. As the selection is the most important step for any organization to choose its expatriate and it is always important for MNE’s to choose or select the right person for the given task. In fact an expatriate failure is often result of a selection error, and often compounded by in effective expatriate management policies. (Dowling Welch Schuler, 1999). The key purpose of this study is to show the importance of selection techniques for a MNE when selecting an expatriate for an international assignment. 1.2 Aims The aim of this study is to explore the proper selection techniques which can improve the performance of an expatriate and help him to retain. 1.3 Objectives: To outline the factors that influences the selection of expatriates. To examine different selection methods used for expatriate selection. To discuss in detail, issues of cross cultural variation in selection process of expatriates. 1.4 Hypothesis The hypothesis which is developed for this study is stated as below Without doing proper selection of expatriate much will be poor for the company and result in loss of company. 1.5 Theory an overview There has been a lot of work done on selection techniques of expatriates in last couple of decades. Selection is the most important part of the success of any expatriate, and if the selection is not according to the needs of organization then the failure chances of expatriate. Dowling says that redirecting future performance potential when hiring or promoting staff is challenging at the best time but if operating in foreign environment certainly adds other level of uncertainty. So if the process of selection is beholds specific importance within a domestic organisation then it must have some extra importance while choosing an international staff. 1.6 Selection The selection is kind of prediction of the organization’s peoples or decision makers keeping in view the profile of the candidate for the particular job (Hackett, 1991). The selection is a complete process of analyzing and viewing the profile of the employee and then selecting for the required job. Moore (2006) discussed this as the selection is the whole process which includes choosing the right candidate for the position from those persons who have been recruited. This involves testing and evaluating the skills of an individual is required for the particular job. According to desler (2000) the selection is the process in which the recruited individual is whittled down by using screening tools like assessment centers, interviews, and different tests. 1.7 Methods of Selection: There are various selection techniques available, and for the selection procedure all of these depending on the situation and culture of the organization. Some of these selection methods are given below. Interviews Tests Assessment centres (Beardwell and Holden, 2001) So the above mentioned procedures are used by different organizations depending upon the nature of job and the normal practice they use within the organization. 1.8 Approaches for the Multinational There are four approaches for the recruitment and selection in any multinational organization. These four approaches are given as follows. Ethnocentric: It is the type of the recruitment approach in which all the key positions and top management is filled by the nationals of the parent company. According to this approach all the top management decisions and the key strategies of the companies is made by the parent country headquarters. Polycentric: It is the type of recruitment approach in which the host country fills all the key positions in the subsidiary. Each subsidiary is treated as the separate national entity. But all the key financial decisions are taken by the parent country headquarter. Regiocentric: It is the type of recruitment approach in which regional talent is preferred. For example if the person is required on for the development of any product then the person who will be recruited will be from the host country. Geocentric: This is the kind of approach where the persons are recruited without seen any race, religion or region. This approach is international based and is getting in practice in most of the developed countries like UK, USA etc. 1.9 Methods of international selection The different methods of selection for the expatriate selection which most of the multinational organizations use is as follows Psychometric Tests Assessment Centres Coffee Machine System 1.10 Selection of an Expatriarate The selection of expatriate is a bit different from the local selection of a local manager. For the selection of an international manager there are a lot of extra factors which needs to be considered by the selectors. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs. (Hailey 2000, pg; 90). During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate within the expatriate’s mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other tends to stop him from going. (Baruch 2005, pg 129). 1.11 Factors involve in selection of an Expatriate. According to Dowling and Welch the factor involve to determine an appropriate expatriate selection process are as Country-cultural requirement Language MNE requirements Technical Ability Cross Cultural Suitability Family Requirements (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999) So keeping in view all the above mentioned factors an expatriate should be selected by a multinational organization. 1.12 Culture: (Kluckholn Strodtbeck 1952) define culture as, â€Å"a set of basic assumptions-shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (and internal integration- which have evolved over time and are handed down form one generation to the next.’’ 1.13 Corporate culture Corporate culture includes the behavioral patterns, concept, values, ceremonies and rituals that take place in the organization. It gives the members of the organization meaning as well as the internal rule of behavior when these values and beliefs customs’ rules and ceremony are accepted shared and circulated throughout the organization. (Trompenaars Turner 1997, pg 157-181) 1.14 Why consider culture? Adjusting in a new culture is always difficult and it causes problems for both expatriate and family members, therefore it is important for an International HR to look for the similarities of the two cultures in order to deal with the challenges in the business world key activity. dowling, welch,schuler, 1998 pg 132 Recent research shows that the expatriates who are unable to cope with the challenges find it difficult to adjust and incur costly implications. (Caligiuri, 1997, pg: 45-67). The factor of culture is very important for an expatriate selection process and HR managers will have to select such expatriate who is adjustable with the different cultured people and work with them for the cultural dimension Hofstede and Trompenaars cultural dimensions are given as follows 1.15 Hofstede’s four dimensions (1967-1973): Gooderham Nordhang (2003). ‘Culture is always a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partially shared with people who live or lived within the same environment, which is where it was learned. It is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.’ Hofstede surveyed 116,000 IBM employees in 40 different nations about their preferences in the work environment. The analysis revealed the results creating 4 dimensions: Power distance: The dimension indicates the extent to which a society expects and accepts a high degree of inequality in institutions and organizations. Uncertainty avoidance: This refers to the degree to which a society prefers predictability, security and stability. Individualism-Collectivism: this dimension relates to the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families rather than being bound to some wider collectively such as extended family. Masculinity-Femininity: Masculine societies value assertiveness, competitiveness and materialism as opposed to the feminine values of relationships and the quality of life. 1.16 Trompenaars’ cultural dimensions: Trompenaars concluded four cultural dimensions that relate to the question of inter-personal relationships and work-related values Gooderham Nordhang (2003). Universalism vs. Particularism Communitarism vs. Individualism: Specific vs. diffuse Achievement vs. ascription: So these four dimensions of Trompenar also affect the selection process of an expatriate for international assignments. 1.17 Strategic choices in expatriate selection: Organizations normally have some strategic choices while selection of an expatriate. These strategic choices are mentioned below. Internal recruitment versus external recruitment Individuals versus teams Technical qualification versus other selection criteria Extrinsic rewards versus intrinsic rewards. Chapter 2 Literature Review: In this chapter researcher tried to discuss all the related studies which are done in past and are available in literature. A lot of work has been done in the literature on the topic of selection. Before proceeding to the actual topic it is necessary to look at the different methods of selection which an organization uses and see that what are the different techniques and criteria which are used for the selection of staff. 2.1 Selection: Moore (2006) discussed this as the selection is the whole process which includes choosing the right candidate for the position from those persons who have been recruited. This involves testing and evaluating the skills of an individual is required for the particular job. According to Dessler (2000) the selection is the process in which the recruited individual is whittled down by using screening tools like assessment centers, interviews, and different tests. 2.2 Expatriate selection: According to (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999, pg: 154) Multinationals take great care in their selection process, however predicting future performance potential of the concerned staff is challenging at the best of times especially operating in foreign environments adds another level of uncertainty. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs. (Hailey 2000, pg; 90). During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate within the expatriate’s mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other tends to stop him from going (Baruch 2005, pg 129). 2.3 Importance of an Expatriates and International Assignments: The world is globalizing very rapidly and change has become necessary for the organization to survive and to gain competitive advantage internationally. According to Harris and Brewster, 1999. The rapidly globalizing world has increased the need for the international assignments and many of the organizations started considering international management experience for the top management. So the international assignments are becoming an important part for the success of an organization to gain competitive advantage. As discussed by Chen, Tzeng Tang, 2005 that organizations internationalize their operation to gain success and to increase its market value internationally and for this purpose an organization needs effective expatriate who can perform its task properly. In this new era the importance of expatriate has increased because expatriates are the ones who can give an organization proper international exposure and make the organization successful. 2.4 Selection Process: One of the most studied areas for the expatriate selection is the selection process of the expatriate. The selection of expatriate has always been difficult procedure for the multinational organizations. Swaak quotes one HR executive who said. â€Å"My job is to find people in a hurry.† So this system is highly crisis-oriented and unsophisticated. Swaak , 1995. Further confirming the problems for the nature of the selection process Still and Smith (1997) report the results of Australian research, which shows that there were a number of different ways through which expatriates were selected. They studied that the most impressive and important form of selection or evaluation of the expatriate was recommendation of the person by the line manager including chief executive officer or specialist persons. Mostly expatriates in the multinational organizations in a knee-jerk reaction to the need to fill a new or unexpected vacancies overseas. Actually there are well informed intercultural trainers or a good HR professional who selects the expatriates but basically it is HR department within multinational organization who selects the expatriate finally. Managements choose the most technical and competent candidates which makes the expatriates successful internationally. (Shilling, 1993 pg 58). 2.5 Types of selection Process: Psychometric Tests Assessment Centers Coffee machine system 2.5.1 Psychometric Tests: According to Passmore, 2008 Psychometrics are the widely used testing method for the selection of the employee and personal development. The psychological test is always important for the selection of the employee especially for the selection of an international manager. According to the validity of psychological tests is disputed. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) the psychologists the variation between the different natured job test is very small (Schmidt and Hunter , 1998). According to a survey done by The Graduate Recruitment in 2007 two third or about 67 percent of 219 respondents surveyed said that the results of psychometric test had some influence on recruiting and selection decisions, and 24 percent said that it has strong influence, and only 2 percent said that these test does not have any influence. So the above figure shows the importance of psychometric tests. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) psychological assessment increasingly involves the application of tests in different cultural contexts, either in a single country or different countries. Now a day the demand of cross cultural assessment test is increasing due to the increasing factor of globalization to gain competitive advantage in international market. According to Mendenhall and Oddou, 1985 one of the important option for evaluating the selection process is the use of psychological tests and evaluation dvices. There are number of instruments available to measure the stress level of an individual. Figure: 2.1 (Source: article by Jonathan Passmore, Bread and butter â€Å"How to use psychometrics for coaching†) In figure 2.1 the real importance of psychometric test is shown. Psychometric tests are reliable that the selected person will be the one on whom one can rely. And obviously these kinds of tests are valid for any kind of job. The most important point in this test is that it does not include any biasness and the selectors cannot show the biasness while selecting on the basis of psychometric tests. These tests are also standard for different jobs. So all the above mentioned qualities and factors involve in the psychometric tests. In other words one can say that almost all the abilities present in an individual’s mind can be noticed, and the end result will always ends up in the right selection of expatriate. 2.5.2 Assessment Centre: As the assessment centers are considered to be one of the best selection techniques so according to Sparow and Brewster assessment centers will be the best idea as a selection technique to assess the competency of international managers. This is rarely the case, however. According to sparrow (1999) Even where assessment centers are used to select the managers in international settings, the key cross cultural assessment centers seems to be to design the assessment process so that it is very adaptable to local environment in which it will be operated. So there is need of cross culture assessment centers in which international managers can be assessed accordingly with the changing environment. Krause and Gebert (2003) have done study on international literature on the conception, operation and evaluation of assessment centers. He examined 281 German firms whose language was German and he compares them with the previously studied firms of United States of America. Study showed that both the American and German firms use the assessment centers but the purpose of some of them was different from the basics. For example the competencies assessed for job analysis might be identified through the use of interviews with job incumbents in 79% of US firms and only 39% of German firms. Most of the German firms rely on interviews for the selection of international managers or expatriates. so the assessment centers are considered to be an important process for expatriate selection. 2.5.3 Coffee Machine System This system was the idea of Harris and Brewster (1999) the key findings of the study show the reality of the selection process for expatriate selection in the organizations. In many organizations the selection process falls under what we call ‘coffee machine system’ and this system is the most common form of expatriate selection. What happens is that the senior line manager is standing by the coffee machine when he/she is joined by the colleague: ‘How’s it going?’ ‘Oh, you know, overworked and underpaid.’ Actually Jimmy in Mumbai has just fallen ill and is being flown home. I don’t know who I can choose to work over there at very short notice of time. It is driving me crazy. ‘Have you met Simon on the fifth floor?’ he is working in the same line of work. He is very good and bright and looks like going a long way. He was telling me that he and his wife had great holiday in Goa a couple of years ago. He seems to like India. Could be worthy to speak to him. Hey, thanks I will check and speak to him. ‘No problem. They don’t seem to be able to improve this coffee though, do they?’ What happen in the organization next is that the manger will take some decision and will have informal discussion with his seniors about Simon and then that man will be called and interviewed and selected for the required position. Accordingly HR department and financial department will be involved in the process and the formal and systematic process will be started. This method is rarely used in the organizations in particular cases when there is an urgent need to fill the position of expatriate. 2.6 Niche Assessments According to Bolt (2008 ) Many assessment venders specialize in certain niches and offer off-the-shelf products to meet clients’ testing needs. However, vendors can find such persons or individuals for the company who can fit in the organizations new environment and can coop with the new organization’s culture. Testing is the most important part of the application process of the candidate because testing gives the good idea of the individual’s abilities and competencies. 2.7 Factors involved in selection Process: There are number of factors which affect the performance of expatriate. Dowling, Welch, Schuler, (1999) recognised some of the important and most affective factors and these are the factors which involved to determine an appropriate expatriate selection process. All the factors are shown in a model below. Cross-cultural Suitability MMNE requirements SELECTION DECISION FFamily requirements LLanguage TTechnical Ability CCountry-cultural requirement Figure: 2.2 Source: (Factors in expatriate selection, pg 77 Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999). Figure 2.2 shows the factors which are required for an expatriate each of the above mentioned factors is discussed in detail below. 2.7.1 Technical Ability: According to Hays, 1971 All expatriates are assigned abroad to complete some task weather its building a dam, running some business, or teaching it all depends on the personal technical ability to perform that task. Obviously it is important to consider the individuals’ personal ability to perform the required task assigned to the expatriate. So in selection it is another important area which needs to look at. Different research findings show that the multinational organization give a lot of importance to the technical abilities of the individuals going abroad for international assignments at the time of their selection. According to Harvey and Novicevic,(2001) that technical and functional expertise has been the primary criterion for selecting expatriate managers for assignments. Hixon found that the selection was based on technical ability and willingness to reside abroad. If the individual is selected without keeping in view its technical ability. It can create the big problems for the multinational organizations to complete its related task or assignment. Reinforcing the emphasis on technical skills is the relative ease with which the multinational may assess the potential candidate’s potential, since technical and managerial competence can be determined on the basis of past performance of the individual who is going to be selected as expatriate. In fact domestic selection cannot be equal to the international selection but person can be selected on the basis of past domestic records which he has performed domestically as the basic criteria is always the same in all the multinational organizations so on the basis of past abilities there should not be any problem for the organizations to select the expatriates. This approach is also found by Foster and Johnsen,(1996) who report the results of the research into the expatriate selection practices for the newly internationalized UK organizations which shows that organizations keep in view the technical skills, and previous domestic records while selecting expatriate for international assignments. 2.7.2 Cross Cultural Suitability: The environment and the culture where an expatriate is going is an important factor for an expatriate. So the selectors of the expatriates should always consider the factor of culture for the expatriate. Although these factors does not guarantee for an expatriate for his successes but if these factors are not considered it can lead it towards the failure of expatriate. If the culture is considered then it is always important to study the Hofsted’s dimensions for cross culture and Trompenaar’s dimensions so these researches are explained in detail as follows. 2.7.3 Culture: Culture is always important for any expatriate selection, so it is very necessary for HR managers and selectors to keep the factor of culture in view while selecting expatriate for international assignments. There have been a lot of studies on culture and there are a lot of different definitions of culture some of them are given below. (Kluckholn Strodtbeck 1952) define culture as, â€Å"a set of basic assumptions-shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (and internal integration- which have evolved over time and are handed down from one generation to the next.’’ The life style of people living in the society is called culture it includes the social, economical, political, religious, life style of the individuals in the country. According to Drennan, 1992 â€Å"whatever is going around is called culture.† Culture is the way of life of a group of people. There are obvious differences between the different cultures such as language, dress, religion, beliefs, and behaviours of the people, and there are also implicit differences between the two cultures such as in values, assumptions about how things should be. so these different degrees of explicitness are often called the culture.(ScullionLinehan,2005). So the culture is very important factor for the selection of expatriate because the individuals move from one culture to another culture for the completion of their assignment. 2.7.4 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Greet Hofstede’s culture’s consequences (1980, 2001) explores the differences in thinking and social action at the country level between members of 50 nations and three regions. Hofstede originally used IBM employees’ answers to company attitude survey conducted twice, around 1968 and 1972. The survey generated more than 116,000 questionnaires with the number of respondents used in the analysis being approximately 30,000 in 1969 and 41000 in 1973. Hofstede identified and validated four cultural dimensions from respondents patterned answers. For each dimension, he presented possible origins as well as predictors and consequences for management behavior. Hofsted’s four dimensions are as follows Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism versus Collectivism Masculinity versus Femininity Another dimension which is fifth dimension presented by Michael Bond is Long term versus Short term Orientation was subsequently developed from a research to accommodate non-western orientations and has been adopted from the Chinese Culture Connection study. Power distance: The dimension indicates the extent to which a society expects and accepts a high degree of inequality in institutions and organizations. It refers to the relationship between supervisors and subordinates. It reflects the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. In organisations an illustration of a high power distance score is generally represented as a highly vertical hierarchical pyramid. Subordinates are often told or ordered about a particular task but they are not normally entitled to discuss the decision made by the top management so basically the meaning of power distance is that higher the person in hierarchy the more difficult will be this person to approach. So there are some barriers for that person to see their top management. The barriers can be of different ways like the person barriers or the employee is not allowed to see the top manager or they are not allowed to attend the high managerial level meetings in which decisions are made. So basically power distance shows the distance between a supervisor and his employee. Uncertainty avoidance: This refers to the degree to which a society prefers predictability, security and stability. According to Hofsted the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. He argued that high uncertainty avoidance is expressed for example by a company’s need for regulations which tends to minimize in the behaviour of its employees. Company rules are such thing which cannot be broken by the employees even if he think that breaking the rule is in company’s best interest in such sort of environment the work stress is more and uncertainty avoidance is high. On the other hands if the employees are less affected by uncertainty is called low uncertainty avoidance. Individualism-Collectivism: this dimension relates to the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families rather than being bound to some wider collectively such as extended family. Hofsted ask the IBM individuals that how important is to keep in view his work goals rather than the organisation. If there is preferred work goals stress dependence on organisation. For example good physical working condition, good ventilation enough space individualism in the work place can be seen. Collectivism can be seen in preference of collective organis