The Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance Essay

The Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance - Essay Example 3.4 Data collection instruments Questionnaires and interview guides were used in the study. Questionnaires were distributed to the participants and some of the respondents were also interviewed. One of the methods used in distributing the research questions was by email. This method had some limitations; like ensuring that the data were correctly filled and understanding how body language may have influenced the results. However, the use of email confined the researcher to have a one to one response to his respondents. Three managers were interviewed. This is because the researcher aimed at soliciting information about employee engagement on performance. Interviews were also used so as to obtain first hand information. Lastly, managers were interviewed to ensure uniformity in the means of data collection. The research was designed so that all employees filled their responses through questionnaires while managers’ responses were through interviews. The questionnaires were caref ully designed in a structured way which still allowed participants to express their views on the subject. The questions asked were selected on the basis of how other authors like the CIPD have conducted a similar research that measures the link between employee engagement and performance. The researcher also interviewed two managers and one training manager in Etisalat for the purpose of the research. 3.5 Reliability Reliability refers to measure or degree to which a researcher’s instruments yield consistent results or data after repeated trials (Nachiamis and Nachiamis, 2006). They define reliability using its synonyms such as dependability, stability, consistence, predictability and... The most important aim of this study, however, was to carry out a detailed research to find out the major implications of employee engagement on performance. From the research conducted, with the support of the theories and literature by various researchers support the fact that, an improvement has been indicated in many organizations as a result of employee engagement in the workplace. Employee engagement strategies have been credited their ability to mobilize employee towards performance oriented abilities. In an attempt to understand the abilities of employees to improve their skills in terms of commitment to their jobs, research was conducted on some respondents on their views regarding health, safety, recognitions and rewards. In response, a great percentage of the employees attested to the fact that rewards and recognition have contributed positively to their full participation and commitment in their job. It is also through, rewards and recognition that, employees have managed to steer the company towards attaining goals of the organization, in terms of the need to be more conversant with the products that are offered by the company, so as to serve the clients in a better way. Improved performance is linked to proper customer relations between employees and employers. On the other hand, from the above research, it is warranted to argue that, employee engagement practices play a part in the advancement of the place of the employees in the organization.

J&L and Hedging Essay Example for Free

JL and Hedging Essay JL Railroad should take a long position. They need to purchase diesel fuel in the future, they don’t produce diesel fuel, so they would want to take a future to be able to lock in the price of diesel fuel for future purchases. 2. What problems could the use of heating oil futures for hedging create for JL? Note: I assume this question is asking about heating oil specifically not futures in general. As heating oil is not the same product as diesel fuel, therefore there could still be some exposure (risk) for JL. There has been a historical correlation between heating oil prices and diesel fuel prices, but this might not be true for the future. The futures for heating oil are contracts for delivery of 42,000 gallons – the amount of diesel fuel needed in any month is unlikely to equal 42,000 gallons or a multiple of that amount. As the heating oil futures mature on the last business day of the preceding month and therefore the purchase would have to occur on that day. 3. Explain why the daily settlement of futures contracts can create cash-flow problems for JL? If JL purchases a long future contract, they have to provide the initial margin for each contract. If the price of heating oil goes down (even for a short period) to bring the margin to below the maintenance margin, JL would be required to top up the margin to the initial margin amount. If they don’t have the ready funds to do this their futures contract would be cancelled. This could require JL to maintain a substantial amount of cash or the availability of a line of credit they can draw on, as needed. The costs to hold this much cash or the interest on a line of credit may exceed the value of the hedging of diesel fuel prices. As the contract hasn’t closed yet (and it could be a while until it does depending on the length of the contract) these daily settlements could affect the interim cash needs of the company. If the price goes up there isn’t an issue with cash needs (other than the initially required margin). 4. How do options on futures work? Why can trading options on futures can be preferable than trading options on the physical heating oil? An option on a future is the ability to purchase the future (or sell the future) at a given price. If the future doesn’t reach that price, you don’t have to buy it. An amount called a premium is charged for the options. If instead of trading options on a future, JL could trade options on heating oil. Exercising an option on a future only requires the cash margin to be deposited, exercising an option on heating oil would require the total value of the heating oil exercise price to paid.

Offender profiling

Offender profiling Separating Fact From Fiction: Where Do Peoples Beliefs About Offender Profiling Come From? Chapter I: Introduction to the Study Historically offender profiling has often been seen as more of an art than a science (Muller, 2000; Ressler Shachtman 1992) leaving it prone to rejection within academic journals (Dowden 2007). However within recent years there has been a sharp increase in the publics interest due to the media spotlight offender profiling has received in the way of films and television shows. This in turn has led to more research being done within the field and can clearly be seen by the significant rise of articles published since 2001 (Dowden 2007). This explosion of interest now makes it the ideal time for research to be conducted. Well known journals are now more frequently accepting articles on offender profiling and in 2004 David Canter launched the Journal of investigative psychology and offender profiling. In spite of this the content of the majority of research published still remain discussion pieces regarding what offender profiling is and its usefulness etc with hardly any containing statistics or formal analysis. For these reason this research will focus more so on the publics beliefs of offender profiling and how it is they acquire them. The recent development and interest in offender profiling has lead to people developing false beliefs. Kocsis (1999) stated that the medias portrayal has produced a situation in which â€Å"a gross disparity has developed between profilings reputation and its actual capabilities†. This research proposes five possibilities of how people acquire their false beliefs (media, experts, reasoning error, social contagion and confirmation bias) with the objective of finding which one has the biggest influence upon forming beliefs. Chapter II: Review of the Literature 2.1 History of Offender Profiling Although many definitions have been given for offender profiling it is generally agreed that it is â€Å"a technique for identifying the major personality and behavioral characteristics of an individual based upon an analysis of the crimes he or she has committed† (Douglas et al 1986). It is not meant as a tool to identify the offender implicitly, but rather serve as an indication as to the type of person they are by focusing on their behavioral traits and personality characteristics. It is particularly useful in seemingly motiveless crimes whereby it allows the analysis of similarities and differences to take place. This in turn uncovers information on the perpetrators personality and behavior, which is essential due to the fact that the â€Å"random† crime and victim may not at all be random to the offender. The victim may have been chosen symbolically due to the fantasy occurring within the offenders mind (Ressler et al 1985). Offender profiling is used within a variety of settings and not just a tool used solely for homicides. These techniques have been used in hostage taking situations (Reiser 1982), serial rapists (Hazelwood, 1983), identifying anonymous letter writers (Casey-Owens 1984) as well as those who make written or verbal threats (Miron Douglas 1979). Due to this ability to transfer profiling techniques into a variety of situations, its methods have been used throughout the world (e.g., Asgard 1998; Collins et al 1998; Jackson et al 1993). However Holmes and Holmes (1996) stated that offender profiling is only called upon when all other leads have been exhausted. This in turn questions its popularity, is offender profiling being used throughout the world due to its effectiveness, or as a last resort? Many feel that the latter is the case and criticise offender profiling on the grounds of scientific reliability. Much of the literature published is often plagued by low levels of validity making the results found questionable. Furthermore is the difficulty in obtaining reliable and accurate data. Very few researchers rely on primary data such as interviews with serial offenders and even when they do the offenders testament should be treated as suspicious due to the known fact that offenders often lie about there behavior (Porter and Woodworth, 2007). This leads to a limitation in the literature, with very few authors publishing three or more articles and only 34% of these articles being written by psychologists (Dowden et al 2007). As well as criticism regarding literature methodology, offender profiling as a whole has also raised much disapproval. Pinizzotto and Finkel (1990) argue that many profilers do not specify the behavioural, correlational or psychological principles they rely on and it is therefore difficult to distinguish if specific profiling techniques are being adhered to, or if simple intuition and opinion are being used. However, regardless of the criticism offender profiling has received; it has still continued to grow in popularity throughout the years (Dowden 2007) resulting in an upsurge of interest and media attention. 2.2 The Rise to Popularity Offender profiling is by no means a new technique with one of the first recorded practice being in 1888 in the notorious Jack the ripper case. Dr Thomas Bond, a British physician is regarded by many to be the first offender profiler (Newburn,2007; Petherick 2005; Kotake 2001) linking together five of the Whitechapel murders and giving an eleven point profile on the personality and behavioral traits of Jack the ripper. Although this is sometimes classed the beginning of offender profiling, it wasnt until 1957 that profiling took a leap forward and grabbed the publics attention. New York Citys Mad Bomber terrorized the city for a period of sixteen years, planting a total of thirty-three bombs in public buildings. With public hysteria being high and police reaching a dead-end, Dr James Brussel (a criminologist and psychiatrist) was called in to help on the case. After reading the letters sent to the press and examining the case files, Brussel created his profile of what kind of person the police should look for: â€Å"Look for a heavy man. Middle-aged. Foreign born. Roman-catholic. Single. Living with brother or sister. When you find him, chances are hell be wearing a double-breasted suit. Buttoned† (Brussel, 1968). This profile was then submitted to the newspaper and days later the offender, George Meteky was arrested matching Brusselss description. In fact the only variation to the profile was that he lived with his two sisters. This apparent accurate profile ignited the publics interest in offender profiling. However due to the media frenzy surrounding the case, facts were often missed out and an inaccurate account was given. For example, Metesky was known to follow media reports (Berger, 1957) and so his behaviors may have been consciously or subconsciously affected. Furthermore the profile itself did not solve the case as often implied; in fact it was background checks on disgruntled employees that led to the arrest (Kocsis, 2004). And despite the popular myth that Metesky was ca ught in a double breasted suit, he was actually arrested wearing faded pajamas (Brussel, 1968). This popular and often cited case is an excellent example of how offender profiling is often misrepresented and how that in turn leads to people developing false beliefs regarding it. Nonetheless, the Mad Bomber case is often thought of as a turning point in offender profiling history and that it was at this point that both the public and law enforcement developed an interest. In the 1960s Howard Teten started to develop his approach to offender profiling, and as a special agent in the FBI during 1970 he started teaching his approach to fellow agents. In 1972 Jack Kirsch started the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) and gave Tenten the freedom he needed to create profiles and continue his research. The word spread and soon police departments were making daily requests for profiles (Turvey 2001). The BSU underwent several changes throughout the 1990s and is now known as the National Centre for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC). However it is not just America whos interest in offender profiling was sparked. Much like Brussel it was one particular case that seemed to ignite the publics fascination with profiling within the UK. In 1985 David Canter was asked to help with the investigation into two murders and over thirty rapes, which the media dubbed as the Railway Rapist (cited in Egger 1999). Canters profile was remarkably accurate and proved a useful tool in the investigation. However yet again, the profile alone wasnt what led police to John Duffy, it was his refusal to supply a blood sample. Similar to America, the British Press reported Canters involvement in an exaggerated fashion which in turn gave Canter much publicity and recognition. Interestingly, although offender profiling gained publicity within America and UK in a similar fashion, they have completely different profiling techniques. The American FBI approach, created by the BSU, relies heavily on crime scene analysis (CSA) (Wilson, Lincon Kocsis, 1997) and is the approach that has been popularized within the media. The approach places offenders into categories according to the crime scene, either organized or disorganized. This approach has been heavily criticized by the likes of Ressler (1992) who states that the simplicity of the system was to enable police without a psychological background to understand it. The UK approach relies more on statistical analysis, obtaining facts and characteristics from solved cases to provide a general framework for each crime (Aitken et al 1996). However in more recent times Canter has developed an investigative psychology approach to profiling. This approach suggests that psychology can directly be transferred to crime, and that an interpersonal transaction is occurring between the offender and the victim. Canter created five approaches which can be used to profile criminals directly using psychology (Canter 1994). The approach that Canter has received the most attention about is that of space and time which has been empirically tested and found to be useful (Wilson et al, 1997). Although Godwin and Canter (1997) demonstrate that investigative psychology can help the police, results have to be looked at carefully since it is unlikely that Canter will contradict his previous work. Regardless of the different approaches offender profiling has, it has nevertheless reached a height of popularity. However, as widespread as profiling has now become, the public still seem to misunderstand it and hold false beliefs regarding it (Snook et al 2008 Kocsis 1999). For this reason, this research will examine the different possible reasons why the public have developed these false beliefs. 2.3 The Mass Media This brief outline of offender profiling shows that the rise in public interest has correlated with major cases, which in turn causes sensationalism within the media. With the public buying into the medias exaggerations on the role of offender profilers, a perfect springboard was provided for many television shows and films to base their premises around these â€Å"incredible† profilers. Major films such as The Silence of the Lambs and television shows such as Cracker, Wire in the Blood and Criminal Minds have promoted the myth that profilers posses some sort of superhuman skill (Egger, 1999; Grubin, 1995; Alison Canter, 1999). Fiction blurs with fantasy for the general public and they are left with false beliefs. Grubin (1995) comments that offender profiling has always had a role within fiction and has always appealed to the imagination due to its ability to invoke the image of â€Å"the cerebral sleuth relying solely on his acute powers of observation and deductive reasoning to identify an elusive and much feared serial rapist†. Many researchers (Balu, 1994; Campbell, 1976; Canter 2000; McCan, 1992; Muller, 2000) would in fact argue that this fictional image of a â€Å"super sleuth† such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes or Edgar Allan Poes C. Auguste Dupin is what inspired offender profiling to begin with. Sagan (1996) agrees with Grubin, suggesting that people are often attracted to fantasy, more so than any other genre, because they often contain characters that have powers, which normal people lack but desire. Green, Brock and Kaufman (2004) concur, asserting that people seek out fiction rather than non-fiction for the simple fact that they want to be entertained. However, unless people adopt a critical approach to the material they are viewing, their judgments regarding offender profiling will be based on the inaccurate and biased information they are being given, resulting in false beliefs (Stanovich, 1992). Second hand knowledge, such as that required from the media, rarely reflects the truth (Sprott 1996) and so this critical approach is essential. The mass media doesnt just refer to television and films, the role stories play are equally important. Those who have experience in profiling often write books about there experiences (eg Paul Britton and David Canter) which creates to the reader, a personal story. These types of literature can be very convincing as they are often vivid and memorable (Borgida Nisbett, 1977; Stanovich 1992) and assumed true in entirety by the reader. People are not trained to critically evaluate or to seek out objective facts and reliable evidence (Carroll, 2003; Gilovich, 1991; Sagan, 1996; Shermer, 2003) and take these anecdotes presented to them as truthful accounts allowing them to form the foundation of their beliefs. Even published accounts of offender profiling rely on these anecdotal evidence to convey the message that they are trying to put across and illustrate the usefulness of profiling (e.g Canter, 1994; Cook Hinman, 1999). Snook, Eastwood, et al (2007) found that out of 130 articles on offender profiling, 60% of them used at least one anecdote as a source of knowledge, such as the New York Mad Bombers case. Another problem faced is that all the portrayals regarding offender profiling convey the same message, the profiler catches the criminal and the case is solved. Although this is unrealistic, empirical evidence shows that the likelihood of people agreeing with a message correlates with how often the same message is repeated (Cacioppo Petty, 1979). So if most of the media (eg, films, television shows and books) are all conveying the same message and no critical approach is taken, then individuals will be left with false beliefs. However, are people that passive that they will believe everything they encounter in the media? This theory of a hypodermic-syringe model (Briggs Cobley, 2002) whereby viewers are â€Å"injected† with opinions and beliefs has been proven to be conceptually flawed in that it tends to ignore matters such as personal influence and interpretation (Katz Lazersfeld, 1955). Individuals are not passive creatures that are unable to form their own intelligent opinion. The media does not dictate a persons belief; in fact it can be argued that individuals use the media for their own gratification (Katz, 1959). Therefore is it unfair and illogical to blame the media solely, for the misconceptions people have about offender profiling? 2.4 Expertise Experts are individuals who after an extensive period of practical and theoretical training have developed a professional capability within a specific area (Kurz-Milcke Gigerenzer, 2004). Due to this definition, many people believe and accept the words of experts without question (Bochner Insko, 1966; Milgram, 1964) and many believe that offender profilers are indeed experts. In spite of this belief there is very little evidence to support this idea. If offender profilers are experts then they should be able to perform their job to a high standard, therefore creating accurate profiles. Snook et al (2008) conclude that any police professional could achieve the same level of success that profilers achieve, by relying on their basic criminological information. However, if this is the case why is it police still request profilers and add to the belief that they are accurate experts? One reason could be because they actually believe that offender profiling works (e.g. Copson, 1995; Jackson et al 1993; Pinizzotto, 1984) but for those police officers who disagree, calling profilers in may simply be a way of doing their job. As a police officer it is their duty to make sure that they use all the available investigation techniques and some may think they have nothing to loose by calling in an offender profiler. However the public may view the fact police use profilers as a confirmation that offender profilers are experts and this in turn will affect their judgment. An example of how the belief that experts are correct affects peoples judgments can be seen in a study conducted by Kocsis Hayes (2004). The study found that police officers, who were told that the profile they read was created by an expert, rated them significantly more accurate than officers who were told that their profile came from a non-expert. These results appear to confirm that people believe and trust the information obtained from labeled experts more so than anyone else. However this result that Kocsis Hayes found may be due to the police officers loyalty. They may believe that professional profilers are an important group that they identify with and feel loyalty towards, due to a belief that they are in the same line of work. Many studies have found that many police officers tend to develop an occupational subculture (DeMaria, 1999; Dempster, 1997; Wilson Chappell, 1996; Wilson Western, 1972) with intense loyalty shown to all those that belong to it (Chan, 1996, Finna ne, 1995; Fitzgerald, 1989; Lusher, 1981; Wood 1997). For this reason, the discrepancy shown between the measures may be down to loyalty rather than expertise heuristic. However this loyalty should only be shown by those who identify with that subculture, therefore excluding the general public. So is expertise heuristic to blame for individuals false beliefs? 2.5 Reasoning Errors People have the tendency to believe things that arent true and a lot of time and effort has been put in by researchers to try and discover why it is people believe in unproven things (Gilovich, 1991; Hines, 1988; Vyse, 1997). One of the main outcomes found is that human beings evolved to be able to identify patterns among environmental occurrences, which as a result can lead to the identification of meaningless patterns (Shermer, 2002). It is this ability to identify meaningless patterns that can be argued contributes to people thinking in things such as psychic abilities as well as their belief that offender profilers predictions are valid. People like to find order in a chaotic world and then form beliefs that can guide future behaviors (Gigerenzer, 2002; Shermer, 2003). However, beliefs are just a cognitive process that picks up on information from the environment and if the information is wrong, so is the formed belief. One form of this cognitive process is reasoning errors.

Analyzing Danielle Harper’s ‘A Slice of Sleep’ Essay -- Literary Analy

The great screenwriter and director Robert Bresson is quoted as saying â€Å"Make visible what, without you, might never have been seen.† This statement is incredibly true of Danielle Harper’s screenplay ‘A Slice of Sleep’. Harper has created a world full of colour that reads to be a world of bleak darkness as it can be joyfully bright and uplifting. The word ‘journey’ is much overused, but perfectly describes the contents of Harper’s script. The following discourse will be looking at how Harper has followed screenwriting conventions, such as the ‘where’, ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ and using popular screenwriting theorist texts such as Robert McKee’s ‘Story’ (1999) and Syd Field’s ‘The Definitive Guide to Screenwriting’ (2003)as guides to analysing Harper’s script. The script is split into three parts; each part is identifiable by a number of factors, the use of the starry night’s sky, the change in room colour collections, the sleeping patterns of the characters and the change of tone in the voice-over. Harper’s screen play is a theoretically unconventional collective of scenes, which primarily focus’ on the sleeping behaviour of its habitants’. Characterisation is dictated throughout by the colour schemes of the various abodes. ‘A slice of Sleep’ offers a sociological view of a cross section of society, which is enabled by the use of abstract characterisation. The first two sections of the screenplay take place within single rooms, mainly bedrooms. These rooms have all carefully been colour coordinated to differentiate between the different scenes; this also allows the tone of the scene to be set. Harper states in her covering letter how she wanted to create â€Å"pronounced distinction instantly between the different segments of the scrip... ...that is strengthened by the use of a narrator, whose changes in tone match the production design revealing an intimate and thought provoking tale. Reference List Books- McKee, R, 1999. Story. 1st ed. London: Methuen Publishing. Field, S, 2003. The Definitive Guide to Screenwriting. 1st ed. London: Random House Publishing. Journals- Rodman, Howard. â€Å"What a Screenplay Isn’t.† Cinema Journal, [Online]. 45.2. Winter 2006.86-89.Available at http://www.jstor.org [Accessed 02 April 2012. Websites- Screenplayology.2012.screenplayology.[ONLINE]Available at: http://www.screenplayology.com/.[Accessed 31 March 12] Screen Writers Utopia. 2012. 127 Hours Three Act Structure. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/2012/03/18/127-hours-3-act-structure/. [Accessed 01 April 12] Films- Pulp Fiction.1994 [DVD] Quentin Tarantino. USA: Miramax

Comparing to Gospels: Mark & John

Claudia Corbetta April 5, 2013 THE-307 The Bible is a collection of texts considered sacred in Christianity. Separated in many sections, the Bible includes four gospels by four different authors that tell stories, miracles, parables, teaching and stories telling the world on Jesus’ life. The gospels are named after the four apostils Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. Each gospel has similarities and differences in many aspects, but they all have a common end: they all tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth.The Gospel of Mark is directed towards gentile Christians, because he has to explain Semitic terms that Christians might not understand. It shows that the author is unfamiliar with the geography and is unfamiliar with Jewish customs. This gospel is also the earliest one written and narrates the Ministry of Jesus, including the baptism all the way to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Mark doesn’t have any information about his life before the baptism or his genealogy, it s imply says that he â€Å"came out of Galilee†, similar to Johns gospel that mentions he is of Galilean origin.Throughout Mark’s gospel, Jesus is named the â€Å"Son of Man† (MK 2:28). Referring him as and agent of God that will wipe out all evil and Israel will be in power. There are two types of gospels written. There is the high Christology and the low Christology or also named Christology from above and below. Between Marks gospel and Johns gospel they are both written in two types of ways. Mark’s gospel is considered to be a synoptic gospel with a low Christology. This means that the gospel writers begin with the earthly Jesus where his divinity is revealed.The gospel shows has examples of Jesus being human and shows emotions that he might feel and mistakes that he might make. An example of this is when Jesus is healing the blind, his humanity is shown here because he tries twice to heal the blind instead of being able to heal him twice (MK 8:22-26). It also means that the life of Jesus of Nazareth is described more through the gospel for example the beginning when the unknown author speaks about the baptism, a human trait that Jesus has; â€Å"In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by the Jordan in John.As soon he came out of the water, he saw the heavens being open and the Spirit descending to him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved son, I take delight in you. † (MK 1:9-11). John’s gospel on the other hand is more of a high Christology. A high Christology or a Christology from above starts with the heavenly Christ who descends to Earth and is dwelling among us â€Å"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, and through him were all things made. † (JN1: 1-3).This means that God is everything, and that there was never a time that he existed. He was the beginning and because of him eve rything was created. Also saying the beginning of the world began with him. In this example, the gospel doesn’t begin with the baptism as mentioned before; it begins with the creation of God onto the world. Also, a Christology from above shows more of the divinity of Jesus rather than the humanity of Jesus. Throughout Marks gospel, Jesus of Nazareth is described as a great teacher and emphasizes the suffering messiah because his community is suffering.Jesus is also a popular teacher but they are afraid of his power. An example of this is MK 6:1-6, where he is teaching all of his people but they are doubting him and wondering where he got all this information from, but at the same time when he heals the people â€Å"marveled because of their disbelief†. The feeding of the five thousand appears in both John’s gospel and Mark’s gospel (JN 6:1-14, MK 6:30-44). The fact that this story is in both gospels shows that Mark’s gospel has miracles as well as John’s and that in both gospels there is a theme of compassion towards the people.When the story is told in Mark, it is mentioned that the miracles was done by Jesus’ compassion for the crowd and concern that they might faint without food returning home (MK 6:34-44). The story shows Jesus ‘supernaturally’ providing for his followers. In John, he says that this is the work of God (MK 6:29). The ending of both Mark and John’s gospel are different. In Marks Gospel there are two endings MK: 16:1-8 and MK 16:9-20. The first ending shows an empty tomb and the divine messengers while the second ending is a longer ending and the people that saw the empty tomb leave and don’t say anything.John’s gospels ending is different in JN 30:30-31; â€Å"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. † As mentioned before, because Johns gospel is a Christology from above, there are no feelings shown especially at the end, it shows more the Divinity of Jesus of Nazareth. As you may notice, even though there are four gospels in the New Testament, there are differences and similarities in all of them.Not only their authors but the way it was written, the literary devices and the stories that were told. However, if you put both John and Mark together, even though they were written at different times, there is still the completion of the story of Jesus of Nazareth, and if you put all four of them together, the story is more complete than only having two of the gospels. Many might nor fully believe them because there might be some discrepancies between them, but as mentioned before they all have a common end: they all tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth.

Business Performance Measurement Using Balanced Scorecard Critical Review Accounting Essay

In a rapid turning economic universe, companies ‘ direction has ever sought for ways and metric to estimate if a company ‘s concern public presentation aligns to its scheme. Performance metric is critical in doing direction a possible exercising and aid in replying some common inquiries like what are our ends and how effectual is our scheme? As one of the most important recent inventions in history, the Balanced Scorecard foremost proposed by Kaplan and Norton in 1992 defines a methodological analysis that can be used by direction for end scenes or strategic preparation and public presentation measuring from fiscal and non-financial or operational point of view. It is besides aimed at heightening organisational public presentation by leting companies ‘ chief organisational procedures to be better managed by directors to better competitory market place and company public presentation. The outlooks of directors are high, and this explains why academic and managerial i nvolvement in this direction tool is on the addition. This paper critically examines plants or research done by outstanding writers on this topic to see the verve of Balanced Scorecard as a concern public presentation measuring tool in modern economic system. Literatures on Balanced Scorecard are on the rise as its methodological analysis become popular among top concerns. Gumbus and Lussier ( 2006 ) in their work, examined Balanced Scorecard and its characteristics ( ) , and why little medium concerns are recommended to utilize it as a metric for concern public presentation. Their surveies came at the clip when Balanced Scorecard is non been widely adopted by SME but by the large companies as a public presentation measuring method. Braam and Nijssen ( 2008 ) discuss factors impacting Balanced Scorecard acceptance and the two cardinal constructs of Balanced Scorecard use in recent clip: as a public presentation measuring system ( PMS ) and as a strategic direction system ( SMS ) . [ 4 ] carried out researches to look into if the Balanced Scorecard add values to companies that adopt it and how it does contributes to the public presentation of an organisation. [ 5 ] examines a outstanding characteristic of Balanced Scorecard cause and conse quence relationship and if Balanced Scorecard can associate operational prosodies with scheme which can be understood and influenced by directors as a valid strategic direction tool. [ 7 ] took a practical attack in discoursing ways that Balanced Scorecard can be used by undertaking directors to step and better the operational public presentation of their squad and besides clarifies aims and concern scheme. These literature discuses extensively on public presentation measuring with Balanced Scorecard cutting across assorted use and industries every bit good as farther elaborated in the advancement of this paper. Most surveies focus on large companies the scarceness of surveies associating to Balanced Scorecard been used in SME for concern scheme motivated [ 1 ] to ship on shutting this spread. They used a instance survey methodological analysis attack on three little concern endeavors. Research was conducted through personal interviews with executives at Hyde Park Electronics, Futura Industries, and Southern Gardens Citrus ( SGC ) . [ 1 ] examine each of the SME to place how of their concern scheme and public presentation aligns with the Balanced Scorecard features both in the short footings and long term. Financial metric, as indicated in their survey, is sale from new merchandise accounting for high net income of the organisation. The Operational Quality was identified to same-day bringing, bringing within five yearss, and on-time bringing. Customer Satisfaction metric was detected to be indicated by increased gross revenues and increased income that would ensue from merchandise credence a nd the coevals of repetition clients. Learning and Growth metric see the induction of employee public assistance plans such as benefits, net income sharing, preparation, and employee communicating and employee activities. By the above findings, [ 1 ] farther cited that about half of the large corporations in recent times has improved public presentation with the usage of Balanced Scorecard as operational and strategic measuring. The instance surveies affecting the SMEs rhenium seen to besides profit from utilizing this direction tool. [ 1 ] The consequences of the instance surveies of Hyde Park Electronics, Futura Industries, and SGC support the anterior literature from big companies. The consequences once more indicated that enterprisers can excessively profit from developing and utilizing a BSC. The benefit or value gotten from utilizing BSC was investigated by [ 4 ] , and in their survey, two research hypotheses were developed: how much does the Balanced Scorecard create value and secondly, how does the Balanced Scorecard create value? For the first inquiry [ 4 ] adopted the usage of Activity-Based Cost Management ( ABCM ) model, in comparing to BSC effectivity in happening how organizational ends aligns to people ‘s public presentation. The 2nd inquiries saw the usage of the Strategy-Focused-Organisation ( SFO ) to research the beginnings of possible value created by BSC. The methodological analysis used was quantitative in nature and an empirical study and analysis of informations collected from EU companies that have used BSC. In their findings, [ 4 ] argued that value is so been added to companies by the usage of BSC. They indicated that the public presentation of an organisation comes chiefly from what it does during scheme interlingual rendition, its consistence in act uponing managerial patterns, and its function in resources alignment to strategic aims i.e. from the agencies to the terminal. The surveies of [ 4 ] hinted the construct of following BSC for PMS every bit good as SMS. Thus, [ 2 ] , in their research differentiate these lifting constructs of Balanced Scorecard ( public presentation measuring system ( PMS ) and strategic direction system ( SMS ) ) , and factors impacting their acceptances by companies as shown the survey done by [ 2 ] . Hypothesiss were developed to steer and develop their methodological analysis which involves quantitative attack. Data aggregation was done by questionnaires sent to 40 Dutch houses gotten from database of companies which had responded to a benchmark study for best patterns in direction control and public presentation measuring in the four areas/domains of involvement of the Balanced Scorecard. [ 2 ] indicated in their findings that the acceptance of both types of Balanced Scorecard benefits from top direction engagement. Consequences besides show that utilizing Balanced Scorecard as PMS will profit from the support of the admi nistration ‘s finance section. They besides cited that Balanced Scorecard as PMS accent on an inclusive measurings of both fiscal and non-financial values which gives valuable image of the company ‘s place in the market. However, public presentation metric indexs cut across the cardinal characteristics of BSC itself, as such [ 5 ] in their survey analysed the cardinal premises of BSC and the relationships among the four countries of measuring suggested ( the fiscal, client, internal-business-process and learning and growing positions ) and its consequence on scheme and public presentation of an organisation. Research inquiry to steer their survey was besides raised: is there a causal relationship between the countries of measuring suggested? The methodological analysis that was used is analytic because, as argued, increases preciseness and lucidity degree in understanding the BSC construct and theoretical account. Past and present literatures were widely analysed. [ 5 ] one cardinal findings indicated that companies ‘ do non necessitate to see priori concern scheme before planing a coherent set of public presentation measurings reasoning that the design of public presentation indexs can work as a accelerator for scheme preparation. The preparation of scheme entails the development of undertakings to transform them into operational aims. This is further discussed by [ 6 ] in their survey. They used the BSC methodological analysis in their survey to develop, trial, and use a strategic measuring system, specifically for undertakings. The attack adopted was a comparing and study of two undertakings monitored by the writers and undertaken by undertaking squad. Their consequence indicated that BSC plays important function in bettering undertaking direction effectivity. They besides argue or indicated that balanced public presentation measuring is an of import technique for set uping on-strategy undertaking bringing The above surveies further give more penetration on the construct of BSC as a public presentation measuring tool that is best used in exciting thought of comparative steps in the critical success factors of any concern. Thus, organizational public presentation sees an addition when, as the chief tool, BSC is used to interpret the scheme of the house. In this respect, BSC contributes positively [ 4 ] [ 6 ] . However, the acceptance of BSC in an organisation depends to a great extent on the degree of top direction and product-market kineticss every bit good as the finance section. If a company is in a competitory market, client satisfaction and fiscal values are of extreme importance to exceed direction and finance section. These public presentation prosodies influence the preparation of scheme and therefore the acceptance of BSC particularly as public presentation measuring system [ 2 ] . However, the support of top direction and the employees ‘ deduction do non look to be requi rement conditions to do the successful development of a BSC [ 4 ] . The influence of BSC on departmental units and internal administrations within the house can be detected in undertaking squads. The BSC clarify and improves strategic step and connexions thereby bettering internal public presentation in traditional deliverables. It is importance to observe that at that place does non be one BSC that matches all administrations but BSC development is team-based [ 1 ] [ 6 ] . Furthermore, as indicated by [ 6 ] , companies ‘ operational aims in undertakings become a direction success as internal sections are exposed to run of strategic-performance indictor which clarifies and proctors project vision and ends. [ 4 ] Surveies indicated that despite the broad acceptance of BSC in recent times, the methodological analysis is non free from defects. Kaplan and Norton describe the relationship among the characteristic of BSC as causal ( cause and consequence ) , i.e. one metric taking to another, and a dependence relationship. This nevertheless, an issue as for case, the satisfaction of clients does non basically give good fiscal consequences hence the relationship is a logical and non causal one as it is inherit in the BSC construct. This portends that the premises made by BSC possibly invalid taking to the expectancy of public presentation indexs which are faulty, ensuing in sub-optimal public presentation [ 5 ] The reviewed surveies are non without restrictions as hinted by the writers. The research by [ 1 ] is marked with a restriction in instance survey attack as at that place does non be any survey on BSC been used by little concern at the clip of the survey. Furthermore, the plausibleness of findings did non protect against the research restrictions in the survey done by [ 2 ] . The generalizability of the findings was edged by a restriction in the sample size, the respondents ‘ chiefly fiscal background, and the usage of cross sectional informations to look into the degree of acceptance of both BSC types at the same time. [ 4 ] besides highlighted that measuring or mensurating the public presentation of an organisation is a difficult scientific discipline. Again, in their survey, sample houses did n't hold unvarying execution of the BSC construct. One restriction of this paper is that it is analytic which is based on researching surveies and researches associating to BSC. Trustin g on these beginnings can, nevertheless, non be deem insightful as an empirical survey. Further research is necessary and should be expanded on about all concern service sectors on how BSC is used to aline concerns to capital budgeting processing. Larger sample size should be used every bit good as extra factors, for case consideration of institutional motives for BSC acceptance. The influence of BSC on the internal relationship between sections and undertaking squads should besides be researched.DecisionThe balanced scorecard is a tool which methodically expands the measuring zones traditionally involved in accounting. Its cardinal end is to cut down the issues associated with the usage of fiscal steps for control intents by infixing non-financial measurings in a strategic control model [ 5 ] . The connexion between concern scheme and aims utilizing BSC creates an apprehension of public presentation measuring and metric that guides the co-ordinated and careful action of directors. Surveies analysed in this paper show that the BSC creates and adds value to organisations that adopt it and promotes more reliable communicating effectual plenty for direction decision-making. Therefore while the adopting of BSC is on the rise by more concerns, this paper analytically shows the positive part of BSC to the public presentation of an administration with an increasing organic structure of cogent evidence.[ 1 ] Gumbus, Andra. & A ; Lussier, Robert N. ( 2006 ) . Entrepreneurs Use a Balanced Scorecard to Translate Strategy into Performance Measures. Journal of Small Business Management, 44 ( 3 ) : 407-425.[ 5 ] Norreklit, H. ( 2000 ) , â€Å" The Balance on the Balanced Scorecard-A Critical Analysis of Some of its Assumptions † , Management Accounting Research, 11 ( 1 ) pp. 65-88.