Diversification of Portfolios in the Global Financial Market Essay

Diversification of Portfolios in the Global Financial Market - Essay Example The problem of domestic surplus also has its solution in the global market. With a greater number of buyers, investors will be able to sell what no one in their country will be willing to buy. Simply put, with more buyers and sellers now more interlinked with each other, globalization has given the financial market a global scope. With a greater scope arise complexities and more risks and seemingly ironic instances. As countries have become more interlinked, they begin to share similar reactions to economic shocks. While similar reactions may make it easier for market analysts to determine how the world will react to different economic shocks, the presence of varying political and economic systems in the global financial market make external and internal economic forces more unpredictable. Greater unpredictability simply means greater risks. Again, the simple solution to this risk is the placing of eggs into different baskets. One could argue that it is pointless to diversify portfol ios in a financial market where countries almost always react in similar ways. However, as Bordo (2000) explains, emerging markets are more susceptible to fluctuations, â€Å"bust and booms† he calls them, as the result of â€Å"open capital markets.† This implies that while one emerging economy may offer huge returns in a couple of days or weeks, investors still need to diversify their investments because it is difficult to determine how emerging economies will do in the longer runs. The disadvantages of portfolio diversification.

Stop smoking Essay Example for Free

Stop smoking Essay Whether you’re a teen smoker or a lifetime pack-a-day smoker, quitting can be tough. But the more you learn about your options and prepare for quitting, the easier the process will be. With the right game plan tailored to your needs, you can break the addiction, manage your cravings, and join the millions of people who have kicked the habit for good.Smoking tobacco is both a physical addiction and a psychological habit. The nicotine from cigarettes provides a temporary, and addictive, high. Eliminating that regular fix of nicotine will cause your body to experience physical withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Because of nicotine’s â€Å"feel good† effect on the brain, you may also have become accustomed to smoking as a way of coping with stress, depression, anxiety, or even boredom. At the same time, the act of smoking is ingrained as a daily ritual. It may be an automatic response for you to smoke a cigarette with your morning coffee, while taking a break from work or school, or during your commute home at the end of a long day. Perhaps friends, family members, and colleagues smoke, and it has become part of the way you relate with them. To successfully quit smoking, you’ll need to address both the addiction and the habits and routines that go along with it.While some smokers successfully quit by going cold turkey, most people do better with a plan to keep themselves on track. A good plan addresses both the short-term challenge of quitting smoking and the long-term challenge of preventing relapse. It should also be tailored to your specific needs and smoking habits.

Friendship Essay: The Consequences of Having Friends -- Friendship Essa

Having friends is a natural occurrence in most lives. The majority of people do not think of going anywhere without their friends, especially teenagers. Where these ordinary teens find their acquaintances is in high school. It is where friends are made and hold a substantial role in the students’ lives. High school students choose their friends for various reasons, and some of their choices may result in positive and negative effects. One effect of friends in high school is general influence. For example, peer pressure is an unfortunate, but predominant result of having companions. Several teens look for acceptance in the eyes of their peers. Consequently, they will go to great lengths in order to win their favor, allowing those they desire to befriend to control their actions. Another n...

Hrm598 – Case Study 1

INTRODUCTION Given nine untitled job descriptions for the Whole Foods Market corporation, my assignment was to review them, give them appropriate job titles and assign a job structure, explaining my thought process and method of analysis. I was then to evaluate the job descriptions and provide feedback on what information was beneficial and what could be improved. EVALUATION OF JOBS After reading the job descriptions I assigned a job title that I felt both represented the job duties and aligned with the other Whole Foods job titles mentioned in the exercise.These are the job titles I originally decided on, prior to establishing a job structure. †¢JOB A: Deli Team Member †¢JOB B: Register Team Member †¢JOB C: Prepared Foods Team Leader †¢JOB D: Prepared Foods Assistant Team Leader †¢JOB E: Kitchen Team Assistant †¢JOB F: Grocery Assistant Team Leader †¢JOB G: Prepared Foods Associate Team Leader †¢JOB H: Regional Team Leader †¢JOB I: Grocer y Team Member ? JOB STRUCTURE When establishing the job structure, I realized there was no need for the department to be part of the title.Although the duties might be different depending on their assigned department, the level of responsibility was approximately the same and jobs could be considered one generic position (i. e. â€Å"Team Member†). Therefore, I made the positions more general in title and chose to conduct a basic ranking method in order to determine the job structure. WHOLE FOODS MARKET – STORE JOB STRUCTURE Regional Team Leader (Job H) Store Team Leader Associate Store Team Leader (Department) Team Leader (Job C) Associate Team Leader (Job G) Assistant Team Leader (Job D-Prepared Foods and Job F-Grocery) Team Member (Job A-Deli, Job B-Register, and Job I-Grocery)Team Assistant (Job E) PROCESS, TECHNIQUES AND FACTORS In my attempt to title each of the positions, I first simply read through the job descriptions multiple times, noting the job duties, lev el of responsibility and decision making and relationships to other positions, if any were mentioned. These relationships helped me to decide what appropriate titles would be for Whole Foods Market. Although my first set of job titles included â€Å"service clerks† in several positions, these were eventually changed to â€Å"Team Members† because of the obvious emphasis Whole Foods Market places on the team concept.Therefore, I chose to incorporate the word â€Å"team† into every title. When assembling the positions into an established job structure, the stated relationships between positions were key yet again. I wrote down every position mentioned, so that I could ensure my positions were accurately aligned and appropriately named in comparison to one another. I chose to look at knowledge, experience, responsibility/authority and leadership/guidance potential as the compensable factors which provide the most value. All of the positions have virtually the same work environment, which is why this factor was not considered.Similarly, customer service related attributes were also not selected, even though it is obviously a huge priority for the organization, because there were no positions where this was not the case†¦ all equally emphasize positive and courteous interaction with their customers. The above job structure was established by weighing the compensable factors of each position and considering any reporting relationships directly stated in the job descriptions. I believe that responsibility was the characteristic that clearly set the positions apart from one another.As you ascend the job structure you will find that each position has more responsibility, both in depth and breadth. Because of these additional job requirements, an advanced level of knowledge goes somewhat hand-in-hand. Higher level individuals must not only have greater in-depth knowledge of the Whole Foods Market policies and procedures, but they are involved i n a much wider scope of activities. Experience is a logical factor that also sets positions apart. A â€Å"team assistant† is an entry level job that requires no prior experience and is the kind of position that one expects an individual can learn as they go.A â€Å"Department Team Leader,† however, is expected to have already put some time in. They have learned process, procedure and the organization well enough to prepare them for the advanced responsibility. Finally, it seems as though Whole Foods Market places an emphasis on providing a career path for the employees, in order to encourage long term employment. This is emphasized by many positions requiring the provision of leadership and guidance to lower level positions. They want to encourage a strong relationship between all levels, to reinforce the team environment and ensure support of all employees.Although I have no doubt Whole Foods Market has a much more extensive job structure organizationally, this struc ture focuses specifically on an individual store location. Even the Regional Team Leader could probably be moved to another job structure focused more on organizational administration rather than individual store operations; however, I chose to limit the scope of my analysis to the given positions. EVALUATION OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS Overall, I think the job descriptions are fairly well written and provide a good base. They describe the scope of duties and what experience or skills are needed for each position.However, the main thing these job descriptions lack is consistency. Some clearly reference a relationship to other Whole Foods Market positions; some do not. Some state who they report to; some do not. Some clearly supervise, train and mentor other positions; some are not as clearly defined. Additionally, job duties in one job description which should probably apply to other positions as well, are not always listed (customer service, health and sanitation compliance, good communica tion skills, teamwork, knowledge of corporate policy and standards, etc). Something all of the job descriptions are missing is the applicable work environment.Although most of the positions will be performed in a similar environment, this information should still be provided. My suggestion to improve the job descriptions would be to establish a template that all positions would follow. The template would include the following categories: a brief summary of the position, the duties and responsibilities, who the position reports to, who the position supervises, the typical work environment, tools or equipment that will be used in the position, requirements for the position (knowledge, experience, education, skills, etc), and possibly a job classification.Job classifications are not a necessity but can be a good idea to distinguish between the fundamental types of job (i. e. entry-level, journey-level, mentor, supervisor, manager, executive, administrative, etc). CONCLUSION After my an alysis, I believe we have an excellent understanding of how the staff of a Whole Foods Market functions. It is clear that the organization highly values customer service and teamwork and wants to encourage â€Å"career† employees at every level.With the established job structure and implementation of the recommendations made to improve their job descriptions, positions would be more clearly defined. Employees would easily be able to understand every position, what it does, how it interacts with other positions and how to get there themselves. REFERENCES Milkovich, G. T. , Newman, J. M. , & Gerhart, B. (2011). Compensation, 10th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Whole Foods Market. (n. d. ). Career Paths. Retrieved March 2013, from Whole Foods Market: http://wholefoods. com/

Modernism in poetry Essay

Modernism. It is a direction of poetry, literature and art in general that uses and describes â€Å"new and distinctive features in the subjects, forms, concepts and styles of literature and the other arts in the early decades of the present century, but especially after World War I. † (Abrams 167) More often than not â€Å"Modernism† engages in â€Å"deliberate and radical break† (Abrams 167) with more traditional foundation of art and culture, established since XIX century. Here two poets of modernist age – T. S. Elliot and H. Crane – are compared to T. Hardy and G. M. Hopkins, a pair of contemporary classical poets. I’d like to begin the study with T. S. Elliot, the famous poet whose very name sounds like a synonym to word â€Å"modernism†. Elliot was and is the personification of modernism, and images and verses from his poems are remembered even today, and integrated in today works of literature and fiction. One can remember Steven King’s â€Å"Dark Tower† saga where images of Elliot’s works resurface frequently – in fact, one of King’s volumes of that saga is called â€Å"The Waste Lands†, obviously inspired by Elliot’s . For example, Elliot’s â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† had brought us a vision of a man whose world had split in and around himself, a lost person in search of love which can only be destructive and formidable for him. Since he is confined in the abyss of his own consciousness, reality is merely some kind of emotional experience for him. He can still observe the world around him, but psychologically he is alone, in the waste lands of unfertility and spiritual emptiness. Prufrock (the epitome of Elliot himself, or the reader) lets his thoughts and sentiments drift off incoherently. The external world around him, to which he is so sardonic, reflects his inner world, deprived of spiritual serenity. As he cannot get involved in a dialogue with the external world, only through the dramatic monologue can Prufrock whisper his intention : â€Å"Let us go then, you and I† (Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, 242). Elliot wanted his hero (and the reader) to compare himself with a character of Dante’s â€Å"Inferno†. But while they are alike, their fates are different: While Guido has at least the courage to open up to Dante, Prufrock is too complacent and too inert to make that effort. His only confident can be his alter ego – a distorted reflection of himself in the mirror of outside world. He sees this person, and begs to him for unification – as if there can be an answer different from the one he gives himself†¦ Prufrock’s wisdom of the ages he seems to feel returns to him as cruel mockery. What, indeed, could be the meaning of â€Å"life, universe and everything† (D. Adams), if .. one, settling a pillow, or throwing off a shawl, And turning toward the window, should say: â€Å"That is not it at all, That is not what I meant, at all. † (Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, 245). That Prufrock’s mawkish and evasive nature is shattered is delineated in the last ten lines of the poem. As the recurrent images of and references to the sea (â€Å"silent seas†, â€Å"mermaids†, â€Å"seagirls†) crop up more and more, Prufrock’s self-evasion becomes more marked. His psychic para1yis culminates when he realizes that even the mermaids will not do him a favor by singing to him; thus, all his source of possible inspiration fades away. (Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, 245). He has never rea1ly been a religious man: he cannot, thus, expect Christ to restore him to a potent life, as was Lazarus restored to his. It is no wonder that while Prufrock is felt to be an epitome to all society of his times – so brilliant and so exquisitely empty inside. In modern times, his words had been referenced to in mockery by one of the most horrible machines the human mind had ever invented, Blaine the Mono: â€Å"In the rooms the people come and go. But I doubt that any of them is talking of Michelangelo† (King). Elliot’s other masterpiece, Gerontion, depicts a dream of memory. While Prufrock is at least â€Å"here† (even if he is unsure of his own location in the world), Gerontion’s hero is the time itself, sifted through the sieve of human memory. The observer is neither here not there, but the remains of memory, the dregs of time are spread before him – an enchanting display, but meaningless essentially. Elliot seems to ask – would the dregs of our own memory, if spread before some stranger, mean as little to him as these remains of one’s time mean to us now? All Elliot’s images are dark, broody and disturbing. They imply to ask – is it all? Can there be anything else around us, or are we lost eternally in the world which wasn’t mean for us? And, as Elliot hadn’t answered that questions himself, each reader must substitute his own answers and test their validity on Elliot’s words of man, world and time. Hart Crane is other example of modernist poets, his images are less brooding than Elliot’s and more defined, but the power they wield over us is intensified by their hidden meanings, unseen at first glance. Crane’s â€Å"Black Tambourineâ€Å" reflects on author’s own experience of time spent with some negro workers in a cellar. But the cellar expands in author’s view to the size of the whole world, and its closed door becomes the famous wall of the three Biblical judgments – MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN: â€Å"numbered, weighed and found wanting†. All universe seems to be contained between â€Å"here and now† – the dark cellar with tambourine on the wall – and mystical â€Å"somewhere†, where all human hopes end as â€Å"carcass, quick with flies† (Black Tambourine). â€Å"At Melville’s Tomb† brings dark and melancholy beneath which a memory of forces lingers that were bright and vicious once before – before the Death took its toll, equaling the furious Ahab and unnamed sailor. The image of the sea is indefinite and vague too, for it can be perceived as deep grave, or Death itself, or Sea of Time which will eventually give endless calm to every living being. In all modernist poetry, the concept of such multipart images and veiled references was honed and detailed up to its perfection. Now this is an instrument which is frequently used in literature and other spheres of life, such as advertising, but in times of T. S. Elliot and H. Crane it was a powerful innovation with which readers were stunned literarily. To compare with modernist poetry of Elliot and Crane, classical works by T. Hardy and G. M. Hopkins are selected. The classical English poetry of Thomas Hardy is more structured both in rhythm and meaning than modernist examples of Elliot and Crane. His poetry can be called â€Å"methodic†, for he explains methodically the one symbol which forms a poem. He explains it, details it, brings it before our eyes in maddeningly realistic manner, until the reader not simply understands it, but is enthralled by its vision. â€Å"Neutral tones† brings us a vision of lost love which turned into deadliness – the blank neutrality which opposes love and joy and happiness of life. The feelings deepen further with each stanza – from tranquility to blankness, to melancholy, and finally to utter despair. The concluding stanza forms the moral of the poem, adding to the finality of the sentence – what is lost in time, can never be found again. â€Å"The Darkling Thrush† is an example of more hopeful vision. Dedicated to the coming century, it is full with dark images of definite meaning: the gate as the gate of a new age (or a new Century), frost and Winter as Death itself that comes to all, and the land becomes a body which dies together with Century, for its time has passed. But the mere voice of the thrush changes the picture, illuminating it with some inner light of â€Å"blessed Hope†. And, while the reader (as the man who stands at the gates) is yet unaware of a definite knowledge of that Good Sign that only the bird has, he still accepts the bird’s song as a sign that there is hope for the future. Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins is yet another example of what classics had to offer then. His images are as definite as Hardy’s, if somewhat more fluent, and the moral is present too in his poems. â€Å"Spring and Fall† shows Margaret – a young girl who had realized for the first time that all things in life change and eventually die, that life is not permanent. A child’s mind can grasp concepts at levels they are not aware of, and understand something without ever having it explained. It is simple because of the innocent way the child absorbs the life itself. As an adult, one can see a subject or idea in a completely different way by viewing it through the eyes of a child. In the poem, Margaret looks at death and understands it symbolically, through the death of leaves to her own imminent demise. â€Å"God’s Grandeur† is another example of short and conclusive classical poetry. The tension in scenes of man-made destruction, pictured with vivid detail, is intensified by alliteration. Disturbing images of oozing oil and ever-repeating trod of countless generations result in deep, uncontrolled fear. But the conclusion opposes all said before by references to never-ending nature and God as its creator and protector. It states to us that God will as surely brings life after death and resurrection after destruction, as each day he brings the morning light after the dark of night. From fear of Man to hope in God – that is the meaning of the poem in general. To conclude the work, one should remind that modernist poets had learned to use their images from classical poetry. But, taking the basic elements and images from their predecessors, their works had transcended from single pictures (or contented stories explained to reader part by part) to grandiose intertwined canvases, full of elements and colors, or bottomless abysses of veiled hints and allusions. Certainly, the works of classics had formed the foundation for these magnificent creations of modernist poets, and without them the whole modernism in English literature would not be able to exist or progress. Works Cited Abrams M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Wilson, 1941 Hardy, Thomas. Wessex poems and other verses. New York: Harper, 1898. Hopkins, Gerard Manley. Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins. London: Humphrey Milford, 1918. King, Stephen. The Waste Lands. Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc, 1991. Simon, Marc. The Complete Poems of Hart Crane. New York: Liveright, 1986. The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. New York and London:W. W. Norton & Company, 1988