Detailed Review of Ethical Identity Of IBs Essay Example

Detailed Review of Ethical Identity Of IBs Essay Example Detailed Review of Ethical Identity Of IBs Essay Detailed Review of Ethical Identity Of IBs Essay Identity, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is (1) absolute sameness; oneness; equality of two expressions for all values of the literal quantities, equation expressing this; (2) condition or fact that person or thing is itself and not something else; individuality, personality (The Oxford Dictionary 1984). In terms of corporate identity, the consistent visual symbols of the corporation fit the first linguistic definition, while the distinct attributes of the corporation (Balmer 1998, Bernstein 1984) or the reality and uniqueness of the organization (Gray and Balmer 2001 p. 1) fit the second definition. Hence, corporate identity can be the same and yet different (Bernstein 2003). Reviews of the literature on corporate identity indicate a plethora of definitions for the term, ranging from the tangible to intangible, and from the tactical to strategic (see Allessandri 2001, Melewar and Jenkins 2002 for a compilation of the various definitions). However, there is some agreement among researchers that the term is related to answering the questions what are we? And who are we? (Balmer and Greyser 2003) or what the firm is (Hawn, 1998, Portugal and Halloran 1986), hence referring to the distinct attributes of the organisation. Birkigt and Stadler (1986, as cited in Balmer 2001) suggest four elements of corporate identity: personality, behaviour, communication and symbolism, while van Rekom (1997) identifies three elements: essence features of the firm, features that set it apart from others and continuity of the features over time. According to Balmer and Soenen (1999) corporate identity encompasses three elements: the mind (the expressed organisational ethos, vision, strategy and product performance), the soul (distinctive corporate values of the firm) and the voice (the various ways of communicating to key stakeholder groups). In short, corporate identity is the bonding of strategy, structure, communication and culture, embracing both tangible (e. g. name, logo and colour) and intangible (e. g. firms behaviour and reputation) elements that make it distinctive (Balmer 2001, p. 280). Balmer and Soenen (1999) further operationalised four distinctive features of corporate identity using the mnemonic ACID, each letter representing a distinct identity type: actual, communicated, ideal and desired. Actual identity encompasses the business strategy, values and philosophy, corporate culture and structure (Gray and Balmer 1998) while communicated identity is closely linked to image and reputation, which in turn leads to the realisation of desired (what corporate management wants it to be) and ideal identities (what stakeholders see as optimal). Since their exists an explicit covenant or a promise (Johansson and Hirano 1999, Mitchell 1999) between an organisation and its key stakeholders, corporate identity must be managed so as to ensure alignment between the various identities suggested by Balmer and Soenen (1999). This entails communicating and behaving in a manner that leaves a pleasant impression with key stakeholders (Cornellisson and Elving 2003). One of the avenues through which information about corporate identity (e. g. its ideology, management philosophy, products, commitments to society, etc. ) is communicated is the corporate annual report. Hence, managing information disclosure in corporate annual reports in a consistent and pleasing manner will produce a positive corporate image an over time will produce a positive corporate reputation (Allesandri 2001). In other words, through proper communication management, companies can build their reputation, which may lead to competitive advantage (see the operational model for managing corporate identity by Gray and Balmer 1998) and will pay off in both operational and financial ways (Dowling 2001), as well as ensure business survival (Balmer and Stotvig 1997, van Riel and Balmer 1997). Islamic banks are representative of a new wave of corporations whose social goals are at least (if not more) as important as making profit. Based on the definition by Gray and Balmer (2001), such corporations fit what they described as having ethical identity. They studied two such corporations. Migros and Patagonia to find commonalities that exist between them. Berrone et al. (2005) assessed the impact of corporate ethical identity on the firms financial performance and their results indicate that revealed ethics (aspects of communication of the ethical identity) have informational worth and enhance shareholder value, while applied ethics (all actions and policies considered as ethical and beyond communication of ethical values) have a positive impact through the improvement of stakeholder satisfaction. Since commonalities already exist between Islamic banks, as they are based on the Islamic ethical business framework drawn from the Shariah (Islamic law, often referred to as ethics in action), it would be interesting to assess whether an ethical identity gap exists and its implications on corporate branding and corporate image and reputation. Hence, in this article, we attempt to assess the degree of variation of communicated ethical identity (as disclosed in the corporate annual report) against a benchmark of ideal ethical identity (checklist constructed based on Islamic precepts) for the Islamic banking sector where trust is vital. Specifically, we measure the degree of ethical identity of seven Islamic banks in the Arabian Gulf region based on their corporate annual reports for the years 2002-2004 inclusive, using what we term an Ethical Identity Index (EII). The reason for confining our scope to Islamic banks in the Arabian Gulf region is because these countries share a similar socio-economic structure, which as such enables us to control for macro and cultural effects and make comparison and interpretations more meaningful. We chose corporate annual reports rather than other media of communication in assessing communicated ethical identity because they offer a snapshot of managements mindset in a particular period (Neimark 1992), have greater potential to influence due to widespread distribution (Adams and Harte 1998), are more accessible for research purposes and are used by a number of stakeholders as the sole source of certain corporate information (Deegan and Rankin 1997). The results of our survey, analysis and discussion constitute a further contribution to corporate identity, corporate communication, corporate social responsibility and Islamic banking literature. The article proceeds as follows. The next section presents a literature review on various aspects of Islamic banking and discusses what constitutes the ideal ethical identity based on the Islamic precepts. The third section describes the research method. The fourth section presents our results and discussion, followed by the conclusions, implications and avenues for further research in the final section.

Review of Reading Eggs for Children Ages 4 to 8

Review of Reading Eggs for Children Ages 4 to 8 Reading Eggs is an interactive online program intended for children ages 4-8 and designed to teach children how to read or to build on existing reading skills. The program was originally developed in Australia by Blake Publishing but brought to schools in the United States by the same company that developed Study Island, Archipelago Learning. The premise behind Reading Eggs is to engage students in a fun, interactive program that initially builds a foundation for learning to read and eventually guides them towards reading to learn. The lessons found in Reading Eggs are designed to tie into the five pillars of reading instruction. The five pillars of reading instruction include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Each of these components is necessary for children to master if they are going to be expert readers. Reading Eggs provides an alternative avenue for students to master these concepts. This program is not intended to replace traditional classroom instruction, instead, it is a supplemental tool in which students can hone and build the skills which they are being taught at school. There are 120 total lessons found in the Reading Eggs program. Each lesson builds on a concept taught in the previous lesson. Each lesson has between six and ten activities that students will complete to master the overall lesson. Lessons 1 through 40 are designed for students who have very little reading skills. Children will learn their first reading skills at this level including sounds and names of the alphabet letters, reading sight words, and learning essential phonics skills. Lessons 41 through 80 will build on those skills previously learned. Children will learn more high-frequency sight words, build word families, and read both fiction and nonfiction books designed to build their vocabulary. Lessons 81 through 120 continue to build on previous skills and will provide activities for children to read for meaning, comprehension, and to continue to increase vocabulary. Here are some key components of Reading Eggs. Its Teacher/Parent-Friendly Reading Eggs is easy to add a single student or a whole class.Reading Eggs has terrific reporting that makes it easy to monitor individual student or whole class progress.Reading Eggs provides teachers with a downloadable letter to send home to parents. The letter explains what Reading Eggs is and provides login information for students to work on the program at home at no additional cost. It also provides parents with the opportunity to have an account to track their child’s progress at no additional cost.Reading Eggs provides teachers with a comprehensive user guide as well as toolkit loaded with books, lesson plans, resources, and activities. The teacher toolkit has several books and activities that they can use in conjunction with their Smart Board to interactively teach lessons to the whole class. Its Instructional With Diagnostic Components Reading Eggs provides teachers and parents with the opportunity to assign specific lessons to students. For example, if a kindergarten teacher is teaching the letter â€Å"K†, the teacher can go in and assign the lesson over the letter â€Å"K† to all of the students to reinforce that concept.Reading Eggs also provides teachers and parents with the option of giving each child a diagnostic placement test. This test consists of forty questions. When the child misses three questions, then the program assigns them to the appropriate lesson that corresponds to how they did on the placement test. This allows students to skip past concepts which they have already mastered and places them at the level in the program where they should be.Reading Eggs allows teachers and parents to reset a student’s progress at any time in the program. Its Fun and Interactive Reading Eggs has kid friendly themes, animations, and songs.Reading Eggs allows users to create and personalize their own unique avatar.Reading Eggs provides users with motivation by providing incentives and rewards. Each time they complete an activity, they are rewarded with golden eggs. Their eggs are kept in their â€Å"eggy bank† which they can use to buy reward games, clothes for their avatar, or accessories for their house. In addition, when a user completes a lesson they earn an animated â€Å"critter†, which they collect as they go through the program.Reading Egg lessons are set up similar to a board game where you move from stepping stone to another by completing an activity. Once you have completed each activity, then you have completed that lesson and get to move on to the next lesson. Reading Eggs Is Comprehensive Reading Eggs has hundreds of extra learning activities and games aside from those in the standard 120 reading lessons.The Playroom is loaded with over 120 learning activities covering a wide range of topics ranging from letter reinforcement to art.My World allows students to visit eight destinations loaded with fun, interactive activities.Story Factory allows students to write and build their own stories and then enter them into a weekly story writing competition.Puzzle Park gives students a chance to earn some more Golden Eggs by completing word puzzles and practicing sight word recognition.The Arcade is a place where students can use their earned Golden Eggs to play much fun, interactive reading games.Driving Tests contains assessments covering sights words, phonics skills, and content area vocabulary. If a student satisfactorily completes a test, they are rewarded a racing car game which they can play to earn more golden eggs.Skills Bank is designed to build a student’s ski lls in spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation. Music Cafà © allows students to access and play their favorite songs that hear within a lesson. Its Structured Reading Eggs provides students with a comprehensive dashboard located on the left of their screen. This dashboard keeps track of which lesson they are on, how many golden eggs they have earned, and allows them access to their stuff and all the other places they can go to the program.Reading Eggs forces students into order by padlocking activities. You must complete activity one to open activity two.Reading Eggs also locks components such as My World, Puzzle Park, the Arcade, Driving Tests, Skills Bank until a user has mastered the appropriate number of lessons to have developed the skills necessary to use those components. Research on Reading Eggs Reading Eggs has been proven to be an effective tool for children to learn how to read. A study was conducted in 2010 that paralleled the features and components of the Reading Eggs program to essential elements that students must comprehend and possess to be able to read. Reading Eggs uses a variety of effective, research-based learning activities that motivate students to successfully complete the program. The web-based design features those components that have been proven to be highly effective in getting children to be high functioning readers. Overall Impression Reading Eggs is an exceptional early literacy program for parents of young children as well as schools and classroom teachers. Children love using technology and they love to get rewards and this program combines both of them effectively. In addition, the research-based program successfully incorporates the five pillars of reading. You may feel concerned if you think young children may be overwhelmed by the program, but the tutorial in the help section was terrific. Overall, Reading Eggs deserves five out of five stars, because it is a wonderful teaching tool that children will want to spend hours using.

Total Rewards Programs Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Total Rewards Programs - Research Paper Example According to the paper in spite of the age old concept, worth noting is that total rewards is especially relevant in the present-day work environment, whereby globalization has made it possible for employees to work in diverse environments. The following total rewards system proposal seeks to focus on the latest available information with regard to creating, organizing as well as effectively managing a total rewards program. The program is targeted for the ABC Company, a service-based organization that employs more than 20,000 located in 17 different countries. There are also over 2,000 management level employees who speak in diverse languages. In consideration of the multiple regulatory environments, a total rewards systems is proposed. Firstly, a brief overview of the company requirements for a total rewards system is provided. A total rewards strategy has then been formulated and the various advantages of the proposed strategy explained. Further, the key communication components o f the system are established. Lastly, but certainly not least, a strategy has been examined for devising a competitive pay structure. The total reward program is holistic and does not rely on one or two reward systems operating in isolation. Further, there is good account of every manner in which people can obtain satisfaction and are rewarded through their work. The objective of total rewards is to maximize the combined impact of a wide range of reward initiatives on motivation, organizational commitment and job engagement. This concept aims to blend the financial as well as non-financial reward elements into a cohesive whole. As put by O’Neal   Ã¢â‚¬Å"total reward embraces everything that employees value in the employment relationship.† WorldatWork also offer an equally wide definition of total reward, stating that â€Å"all of employer’s available tools that may be used to attract, retain, motivate and satisfy employees.† Overview of company requireme nts for a total rewards system From this paper it is clear that there is an increasing need for corporations to come up with reward systems that motivate employees to work harder and more effectively. These systems usually teach associates the importance of being productive and efficient, as well as their inherent value in companies. However, considering the pressures associated with incentives or performance, or even ineffective implementation procedures, in some situations, these systems can encourage unethical or even unwanted behaviors . Therefore, to attract and retain the best workers, corporations need to have an appropriate rewards system that will always reward and encourage workers to always remain focused on producing the best quality services in an efficient manner, thereby meeting the needs of customers. This corporation needs a reward system that will be linked with goal-setting, competency measures and employee development. A reward system will help the corporation in moving toward a better alignment between company strategies and values and performance management. This will help in decentralizing the decision-making down company hierarchy to help in empowering every manager located in different parts of the world.  

World History - Julius Caesar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

World History - Julius Caesar - Essay Example Great as a general, great as a politician, great as a far seeing statesman, great as an orator, great as an historian and a man of letters---Julius Caesar does indeed, as Shakespeare makes Cassius so grudgingly avow, ‘bestride the narrow world like a colossus.† (Canning, 2005) Born in July 102 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar belonged to a highly prominent Julian family lineage, which sought its roots in the royal, aristocratic and divine ancestry. But even then he had natural tendencies towards democratic state of government since his early youth. His family set up and relations also paved the way towards his attachment with the democratic Popular Party, where his aunt had got married to the party leader Marius. Julius also married Cinna’s daughter, another popular leader of the same party, which created lots of problems for the young Julius, because the political rival of both Marius and Cinna i.e. Sulla had obtained the reigns of the government, who forced Julius divorce his wife, but he managed to escape rather deserting his wife and leaving her in the lurch. The Roman government of Caesarian era had been under the unabated influence of the Roman gods and goddesses; it is why the public used to expect the same performances and heroic deeds from their military personnel and the young individuals. Hence, the Rome of Julius Caesar had been clouded with military expeditions and adventures, and a successful military commander was adored by the people of his times. It is therefore as a shrewd and intelligent young man, Julius rightly viewed that performing something extraordinary during his military career might win popularity and recognition for him. By 81 B.C. he joined the Roman army during its campaign against the King of Pontus named Mithridates. It was perhaps the heavenly-blessed opportunity for Julius to display his gallant deeds, at the moment when he saved one of his comrades at the

Opera Essay -- essays research papers fc

Imagine you are in a darkened theater and on stage are the actors. Behind the actors you can see the scenery. Down in front of the stage, in what is called the pit, is an orchestra and a conductor. As the orchestra plays, the actors on stage do not speak their lines they sing them! Opera is the combination of drama and music. Like drama, opera embraces the entire spectrum of theatrical elements: dialogue, acting, costumes, scenery and action, but it is the sum of all these elements, combined with music, which defines the art form called opera. Operatic dramas are usually serious, but there are several comic operas and funny scenes in tragic operas. The music is usually complicated and difficult to sing well. Only the most skillful singers can handle it. The cast is usually made up of main characters (the soloists) and a chorus (a group of singers who act as a crowd of people involved in the action of the plot). Some operas have scenes in which dancing is performed by a small ballet group. Operas usually begin with an overture - an introduction played by the orchestra alone. Once the curtain goes up, the soloists and chorus sing throughout most of the drama. Arias (songs sung by soloists) are the important points in an opera. In an aria, a character sings about his or her feelings and thoughts, or about what he or she is going to do. Between arias, the soloists may sing back and fourth to each other in a kind of musical discussion called recitatives. Besides singing arias, soloists often join together to sing duets, trios, quartets, quintets, or sextets at various points in the opera. The chorus usually has several songs to sing, either alone or with the soloists. The music follows the action and mood of the plot. Operas are usually performed in special buildings called opera houses. A choreographer creates the dances, and the chorus master rehearses the singers. The conductor leads the entire opera performance from his or her place in the pit. The soloists, chorus members and the dancers follow the directions of the conductor. The ancient Greeks blended drama and music, but opera as we know it today developed in Italy in the late 1500s. At first, the music was used mainly for background. However, by the end of the century, the drama and the music were equally important. The opera innovation inspired some of the biggest composers known today. In France, Je... ...); and Puccini’s Madame Butterfly (1904); to list just a few. Famous recording opera stars include Enrico Caruso, Maria Callas, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Plà ¡cido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, and Josà © Carreras. During the 400-year history of modern opera, there have been many improvements in the art of music drama. Throughout its history opera has exerted great influence on other forms of music. The symphony, for example, began as an instrumental introduction to 18th-century Italian opera. The cadenzas of violin and piano concertos emerged, in large part, from an attempt to replicate some of opera's vocal intensity. Opera will continue to be a dynamic art form. Bibliography Boynick, Matt. â€Å"Richard Wagner -List of Works by Genre and Title.†Richard Wagner. 1996 Feb. 1. http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/wagner.html Buckman, Jan H. J.S. â€Å"George Frederic Handel.† Handel Homepage. 2005 Jan. http://www.let.rug.nl/Linguistics/diversen/handel/map.html Kamien, Roger. Music: An Appreciation. New York, NY: 2004 Okuda, Michael, and Denise Okuda. Greatest Composers. New York: Pocket, 1993. Sturgeon, Theodore. "Opera." The Encyclopedia Americana. International ed. 1995.

Financial Planning and Forecasting Essay

We have also provided comprehensive documentation on the templates so that you do not need to guess or figure out how we implemented the models. All our template models are only in black and white color. We believe this is how a professional financial template should look like and also that this is the easiest way for you to understand and use the templates. All the input fields are marked with the ‘*’ symbol for you to identify them easily. Whether you are a financial analyst, investment banker or accounting personnel. Or whether you are a student aspiring to join the finance world or an entrepreneur needing to understand finance, we hope that you will find this package useful as we have spent our best effort and a lot of time in developing them. ConnectCode Pg iii Financial Planning and Forecasting Version 1. 0 1. 1. 1 Financial Planning and Forecasting Pro Forma Financial Statements Financial statements projections and forecasting are very common in corporate financial analysis. The reason is that it is very useful and important to forecast how much financing a company will require in future years. The projections are achieved by using historical sales, accounting data and assumptions on future sales and costs. These financial statements projections are known financial modeling as Pro Forma financial statements. 1. 2 Financial Statements Modeling This spreadsheet provides a template for financial statements forecasting. It requires simple financial statements inputs from the past 5 years and will automatically generate all the necessary Pro Forma Financial Statements projections outputs. The following diagram illustrates the process of using this template for financial statements forecasting.

American Flag Protocol on Memorial Day

The American flag is flown at half-staff  anytime the nation is mourning. The proper protocol for flying the American Flag on Memorial Day slightly differs from other occasions when flags are flown at half-staff. On Memorial Day, flags are quickly raised to full-staff position and then slowly lowered to half-staff, where they remain from sunrise until noon to honor the dead servicemen and women of this country. At noon, the flags are raised quickly to full-staff in recognition of living military veterans who served the country. The flags remain at full staff until sunset. Whenever the flag is flown at half-staff, other flags (including state flags) should be removed or flown at half-staff as well. Protocol for Flags Mounted on Homes For flags that cannot be lowered, such as those mounted on homes, an acceptable alternative is to attach a black ribbon or streamer to the top of the flag pole, directly beneath the ornament at the end of the pole. The ribbon or streamer should be the same width as a stripe on the flag and the same length as the flag. If the flag is wall-mounted, attach three black bows along the top edge of the flag, one at each corner and one in the center. Other Occasions When Flags Fly at Half-Staff There are many other occasions when flags are flown at half-staff. No  one other than the president and state governors can order the flag to be flown at half-staff. Occasions include the following: Flags are flown at half-staff  at all U.S. federal buildings, grounds, territories, and Navy ships for 30 days when the current or a former president dies.They are flown at half-staff for 10 days following the death of the vice president, speaker of the House of Representatives, the chief justice or retired chief justice of the Supreme Court.Flags fly at half-staff until the burial of a former vice president, governor of a state, associate justice of the Supreme Court, or the Secretary of a military department.In the Washington, D.C. area, flags are flown at half-staff on the day of and the day following the death of a U.S. senator or representative.The president may order the flag to be flown at half-staff to recognize the death of a great American or non-American. Flags flew at half-staff in 2016 after the death of former first lady Nancy Reagan, in 2013 at the death of Nelson Mandela, in 2005 in recognition of the passing of Pope John Paul II, for King Hussein of Jordan in 1999, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin  in 1995, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1965, among many others.The president may order the flag to be flown at half-staff when a tragic event occurs in the U.S. or elsewhere, including for the victims of the July 2016 attack on police officers in Baton Rouge and for the victims of the August 2016 attack in Nice, France.  In addition to Memorial Day, the flag flies at half-staff on Patriot Day (September 11), Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (December 7), and National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service (Oct 9).